A judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a central Queensland truck driver accused of driving dangerously and causing death over a double fatal crash.
Timothy Lee Wilson, 42, had pleaded not guilty to the charge and faced a three-day trial in the District Court in Rockhampton.
The court heard the truck Mr Wilson was driving crashed into the back of an ambulance stopped at roadworks near Stanwell in October 2021, killing nurse Ray Wyeth and his patient Martyn House.
After deliberating for five hours, the jury told the court it could not reach a unanimous verdict and Judge Jeffrey Clark discharged them.
'Obvious' signs
During the trial, Crown prosecutor Joshua Phillips said Mr Wilson had missed "obvious" road signs along the Capricorn Highway telling him to slow down for an upcoming stop for road works as well as other signals.
"[There was also] the traffic, the traffic lights, the 450-metre-long worksite, the shiny reflective ambulance with its break lights," Mr Phillips said.
He said everybody else in the traffic queue had been able to stop safely.
"The signage was perfectly adequate in the circumstances, and for drivers paying a modicum of attention," Mr Phillips told the court.
On Wednesday, Judge Jeffrey Clark reiterated to the jury that contrary to comments made by Mr Phillips on the first day of the trial, the case was not one of negligence.
"The Crown case is that it was dangerous for the defendant to drive in the manner he did … that the defendant failed to keep a proper lookout and failed to stop," Judge Clark said.
Defence argues no time to stop
In closing arguments on Wednesday, defence counsel Lachlan Ygoa-McKeown said there were mixed accounts among the witnesses about what signs they saw and where.
Mr Ygoa-McKeown told the court if drivers missed the initial speed reduction sign, which some witnesses did not recall seeing, the first notice of stop traffic was over the rise, or around a "blind corner".
"[If you didn't see the first sign] before the top of the rise there's no indication that you have to stop," he said.
"[When Mr Wilson] came over that rise he did not expect there would be 150 metres of queued traffic … there is no evidence that even if he was doing 80 kilometres an hour, with [that] in front of him, that he even could've stopped."
He also told the court there was no evidence to indicate what speed Mr Wilson was going before the crash.
"That is not to detract from what happened … this was a tragedy, two people died, but your difficult decision is to objectively … look at the facts," Mr Ygoa-McKeown told the jury.
Witnesses recall crash
Throughout the course of the trial, the court heard from several witnesses, including forensic crash investigators, traffic controllers, truck drivers at the crash, and others travelling along that stretch of road.
Advanced care paramedic Ashley O'Connor was driving the ambulance for a patient transfer when it was struck by the truck Mr Wilson was driving.
On Tuesday he told the court he didn't recall noticing speed signs, but saw traffic, slowed, and came to a stop.
"I looked into my driver's side rear-view mirror and that's when I saw a truck come up over the hill into my line of sight," Mr O'Connor said.
"It looked like it was coming way too fast for the queued traffic. As I've looked into the mirror I've then seen the truck veer towards the centre of the road.
"Realising that something wasn't quite right, I didn't have time to yell out, but I've grabbed and braced my own head.
"We spun a number of times, I don't recall how many times. [There were] loud bangs and a crash."
Mr Wilson remains on bail and his matter has been adjourned until March 31.
