Case: Office of Public Prosecutions Wastes Resources Prosecuting Father For Riding Accident.
Our client was riding with his child on a minibike a short distance to his house to go to the toilet. He was distracted momentarily talking to his child and collided with the wheel arch of a parked trailer. The child was injured in the incident.
Charges/ Ch1 (Recklessly Cause Serious Injury); Ch2 (Negligently Cause Serious Injury); Ch3 (Reckless Conduct Endangering Serious Injury); Ch4 (Drink Driving); Ch5 (Dangerous Driving); Ch6 (Careless Driving); Ch7 (Intentionally Cause Injury)
Result/ Charges 1 to 4, 6, 7 withdrawn; Plead Guilty Ch5 (Dangerous Driving).
We reviewed the police brief and noted that the highway patrol officer did not speak to the nominated driver, instead he spoke with his brother. Despite that, he stated in our client’s rejection letter that he had spoken to the nominated driver “rejected” the nomination. Counsel for our client made submissions that these circumstances were not a valid rejection and ultimately the prosecution agreed to withdraw all charges.