The son of a couple killed in a fiery crash on “the most notorious bend” in South Australia’s south-east has told an Adelaide court he is still angry and searching for answers.
Key points:
- Trevor Francis Stewart killed Don and Senny McInnes in a crash in March 2019
- One of their sons has expressed his grief in court
- Stewart says he cannot explain what happened because he cannot remember the crash
But the driver responsible says he cannot provide them because he has no memory of the crash.
Kingston SE restaurant owners Don and Senny McInnes were killed on Lucindale Road, near Naracoorte, in March 2019.
Trevor Francis Stewart has pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, after swerving onto the wrong side of the country road while driving at 110 kilometres per hour.
In a victim impact statement read to the District Court today, the couple’s son, Andrew McInnes, said he was still had questions about the crash.
“I still hold anger towards the accused for what has happened and for the shock waves that continue to ripple around me.
“I am hurt, my brother is hurt, and not being able to properly provide an explanation of why this has happened makes it difficult to forgive.”
Mr McInnes said his other brother, who wanted to become a chef and work with his parents in the restaurant, had lost his drive.
“It pains me to see him the way he is now,” Mr McInnes said.
“He is yet to set one foot back in the restaurant since this happened.”
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Stewart’s lawyer, Nick Healy, said his client was “devastated” by the consequences of the crash but could not provide answers for the couple’s sons.
“He wasn’t speeding, he wasn’t on drugs and he wasn’t under the influence of alcohol,” Mr Healy said.
“This was a tragic accident.
“He doesn’t have [the answers]. He has absolutely no memory of the incident itself.
“He’s so devastated by what has occurred that he’s spiralled back [into drug use].”
Mr Healy told the court the corner where the crash occurred was dangerous and “the most notorious bend” in the region, with the council clearing scrub around the bend following the deaths.
Mr Healy said sentencing Stewart to prison “would not be in the best interests of the community” and he asked that his sentence be suspended.
Driver also involved in another crash
Prosecutor Chris Edge said while the offence was on the lower end of seriousness, inattention was almost certainly a factor.
“It is a case involving inattention or distraction — sufficient inattention to end up sufficiently in the wrong lane,” he told the court.
The District Court heard that, since the crash, Stewart had been convicted of driving while under the influence of methamphetamine over a separate crash in December last year.
“It must be a mark against the defendant in this case in terms of full contrition, any assessment of future risk and rehabilitation,” Mr Edge said.
“Descending into drug use is one thing, driving on a freeway after taking drugs is another.”
Outside court, Stewart said he was “very sorry about what happened that day”.
He will be sentenced later this month.
