A NSW police officer who fatally struck a motorcyclist during a pursuit has been found guilty of negligent driving.
Matthew James Kelly was initially found not guilty of manslaughter and an alternate charge of dangerous driving occasioning death after a jury trial in March.
However, the officer has been found guilty on Wednesday of negligent driving occasioning death after a judge-alone trial.
Kelly was driving a NSW Police Force Kia Sorrento in the early hours of April 16, 2020, when he pursued Jack Roberts.
The 28-year-old was riding an unregistered Honda trail bike up the Pacific Motorway at Blue Haven, on the Central Coast, before the two vehicles collided.
Mr Roberts died at the scene.
Examining the same evidence as the jury trial, Judge Penelope Hock found Kelly had not driven with the same amount of care an ordinary driver would have exercised.
"A reasonable and prudent driver would have foreseen that at night time following so closely in (his car) created a risk which was real, obvious and serious," she told Downing Centre District Court.
Judge Hock said Kelly had "no reasonable basis" for believing he was honestly driving in a safe manner.
Mr Roberts had high levels of methylamphetamine in his system when he died, making it hard to be certain of his cause of death.
However, Judge Hock noted his autopsy revealed fractured ribs and chest trauma and was satisfied that Kelly's negligent driving substantially contributed to Mr Roberts' death.
Kelly will be sentenced at a later date.
Australian Associated Press
