Alleged pub crash driver looked ‘awful’: court
Written by admin on September 16, 2024
The driver accused of causing a horror beer garden crash which killed five looked “bloody awful” moments after, a court has been told.
William Herbert Swale, 66, appeared in the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Monday for the start of a committal hearing to determine if his case heads to trial.
The New Zealand-born retiree was charged in December last year after allegedly crashing into the outdoor beer garden at the Royal Daylesford Hotel in country Victoria the month prior.
Five people were killed and others injured as Mr Swale’s vehicle ploughed into two families enjoying a Sunday evening on November 5, 2023.
He is facing five counts of culpable driving causing death, two counts of negligently causing serious injury and seven counts of reckless conduct endangering life.
Melbourne woman Pratibha Sharma, 44, her nine-year-old daughter Anvi, and Ms Sharma’s husband Jatin Kumar, 30, were killed in the crash.
Their friend Vevek Bhati and his 11-year-old son Vihann died at the scene, while his partner and six-year-old son were injured.
Prosecutors allege the diabetic man “ignored” nine alerts on his phone from a continuous blood glucose monitor between 5.20pm and 6.06pm before he lost control of the car.
Mr Swale’s lawyer, Dermot Dann KC, suggested his client suffered a severe hypoglycaemic attack at the time of the “tragic accident”.
In court, prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams said the scope of issues had narrowed, with the committal, initially scheduled to run for up to six days, now expected to be concluded on Tuesday.
Three witnesses, Robert Hutton, Paul Hildebrand and Chris Street, gave evidence they competed with Mr Swale on the weekend of the crash at a shooting competition.
Each said they did not see Mr Swale drink alcohol during the competition, with Mr Hildebrand saying the accused man told him he was staying in his car for the two-day period.
The competition ended at 1.30pm on Sunday and each man did not see Mr Swale after this.
The court was told another man, Martin Hinck, was working at Winespeake Cellar opposite the hotel when he heard a bang and people screaming shortly after 6pm.
Mr Hinck ran out and saw the driver motionless with his eyes closed and mouth agape in the vehicle, describing him as appearing “wasted” or “bloody awful”.
He accepted he only had a brief look of a few seconds before beginning to manage traffic.
The court was told a man, matching Mr Swale’s description, had entered Winespeake before the crash asking for a table but left after Mr Hinck said they were full.
Mr Swale was taken to the Ballarat Base Hospital after first responders found him unable to communicate at the scene.
He had been making his way home after attending the multi-day national clay target shooting championship in Clunes – a half-hour drive west of Daylesford.
Mr Swale’s GP, Phillip Feren, told the court that Mr Swale had been living with insulin-dependent diabetes since 1994, with regular reports from an endocrinologist finding it was under excellent control.
These reports also noted Mr Swale experienced hypoglycaemia – or low blood glucose levels – overnight and before meals, Dr Feren told the court.
The hearing, before magistrate Guillaume Bailin, continues.
