Witness describes triple fatality crash

Quote :

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/7928394/witness-describes-triple-fatality-crash


A driver warned his passengers to "hang on" moments before a fiery head-on crash that killed him, his wife and his sister, a court has been told.

Passenger Joyce Rehe told the Melbourne Magistrates Court the car "came straight at us" after overtaking a truck on the opposite side of the road.

Her son Tex, who was driving their car, was killed along with his wife Robyn and his sister Suzanne, who were in the back seat.

Tex and Robyn's 12-year-old daughter, who was also in the car, survived.

Gurwinder Singh, 24, of the Melbourne suburb of Murrumbeena, is facing 12 charges, including three counts of culpable driving.

The court heard a silver Ford Falcon matching the description of Singh's car overtook up to six vehicles before losing control and hitting the oncoming car at Merton, northeast of Melbourne, in May 2009.

Witness Mike Donnison said when he saw the car, he commented: "I think this bloke will end up killing someone, the way he's driving."

Mrs Rehe said her family was travelling on a straight stretch of road when an oncoming car pulled out from behind the truck.

"All of a sudden I saw a set of car headlights pull out from behind the truck and come towards us on the wrong side of the road," she said in her statement.

"It wasn't like he moved out a little bit to have a look first like most people do.

"I remember Tex saying, 'What's this idiot think he's doing?'

"The next thing I remember was Tex calling out, 'Hang on, hang on!'"

Mrs Rehe, 77, was in hospital for four days with a broken nose and fractures.

Other witnesses said they saw the silver car travelling dangerously and erratically before the crash.

Geoffrey Stephens said he was doing 100km/h when a silver Ford Falcon "flew past" him at up to 150km/h.

Mr Stephens said the silver car overtook up to six cars and was weaving in and out of traffic, causing other drivers to brake suddenly.

He then saw the car launch into the air, land on its roof and catch fire.

Anthony Edwards said he had to brake suddenly to avoid crashing into the silver car because it was only travelling at 40-50km/h on the highway.

He said he could see a computer screen on the car's dashboard and the car was swerving across the road.

"I could see the interior of the car well illuminated, and I could see that there was a large 10-12 inch TV/computer screen mounted on the dash in between the driver and front passenger," he said.

"When I saw this, I commented ... that these people were watching TV as they were driving."

Under cross-examination by defence barrister Paul Higham, he agreed the computer may have been a GPS.

Mr Donnison, a passenger in Mr Edwards' car, said there were four or five people inside the silver car and it was moving from one side of the road to the other.

The hearing continues on Tuesday.

yikes, that is so horrible.

OMG! Are ppl ever going to learn! Im sorry but this is the reason INNOCENT ppl are afraid to leave there house! Absolutely disgusting! Who on earth would do something so stupid! grrrrrr

sad, i hope the driver wasnt watching tv doesnt explain his speed, unnecessary.

i hope he gets life for all who died i know it wont happen. to be driving like that is bloody awful. thats what i fear happening to us on the road all the time.