A driver accused of killing five people was issued a speeding fine minutes before a crash and allegedly failed to give way before driving onto a busy highway, court documents reveal.
Christopher Dylan Joannides, a coffee roaster from Melbourne, faced the Shepparton Magistrates Court on Friday after being charged with five counts of dangerous driving causing death following a crash on the Victoria-NSW border.
Four foreign farm workers, a woman they worked for and a dog were killed in the crash between two cars and a truck at Strathmerton on Thursday.
The 29-year-old driver from Doncaster was travelling through the area with his girlfriend to go to a friend's wedding in the NSW town of Armidale this weekend.
Joannides, driving a white Mercedes sedan, was allegedly pulled over by police at 1.43pm on Labuan Road in Yarroweyah for being 18km/h over the speed limit, court documents revealed.
He was given a preliminary oral drug test, which allegedly returned a positive result for cannabis, however, a second test was not positive and police have sent that sample off for forensic testing.
Victoria Police allege Joannides told officers he had smoked cannabis one day or more beforehand, according to body-worn camera footage.
He was given an infringement notice for speeding and he drove away at 2.19pm towards Murray Valley Highway.
Three minutes later he allegedly crashed into the back passenger side of a Nissan Navara, which was then hit by a B-double milk tanker, near the intersection of Murray Valley Highway and Labuan Road.
Police allege Joannides failed to give way or slow down at the intersection before crossing onto the highway, despite "clearly visible signage" and rumble strips with a warning sign to reduce speed and give way.
The Navara rotated out of control, onto the other side of the road and into the path of the truck, which was carrying two full-sized tankers of milk.
The driver of the Navara, a woman aged in her 60s, and her four passengers died instantly. The four workers, aged between 23 and 30, had just finished a shift at a nearby abattoir and were on their way home.
The truck driver was taken to hospital with head injuries and migraines.
Joannides and his girlfriend were taken to hospital before he was released to police for an interview. He was visibly upset when being questioned by police and gave a no-comment interview, the court documents said.
On Friday he applied for bail through his lawyer, who said his client had no prior offences, had a stable residence, good family support and was not an unacceptable risk to the community.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski granted Joannides bail with strict conditions, including that he is banned from driving.
"Probably the worst thing you could do is ... to drive a motor vehicle," the magistrate said.
"You're not to drive a motor vehicle under any circumstance."
Joannides must reside at his Doncaster address, surrender his passport and cannot leave Victoria or Australia. He will return to court on September 19.
