A ROAD accident impairment and toxicology expert has given evidence in court that the man accused of causing the death of 19-year-old Noah Peacock of Poowong, in August last year, was 10 times more likely to cause a collision than someone without drugs or alcohol in their system.
Under cross examination from legal counsel for the accused man, 26-year-old Jayden Colverd of Hampton Park, Dr Jason Schreiber of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine revealed that Colverd likely had 10 mg/mL of THC in his system when he crossed double lines, allegedly “going like a rocket”, and crashed into Peacock.
Dr Schreiber said at the time the accused was tested for drugs and alcohol, two hours after the incident, he recorded a concentration of 9 mg/mL of THC, but was likely to be higher at the time of the collision, and a blood/alcohol concentration of 0.01, likely to be in the range of .037 and .064 two hours earlier.
Combined with the evidence that he crossed to the other side of the road, that he tried to leave the scene of the accident and reported memory loss, he concluded that the driver was significantly impaired at the time of the fatal crash.
As a result of the evidence provided by Dr Schreiber, and that of a witness who saw Colverd coming up behind her “really, really fast” on the South Gippsland Highway, between Korumburra and Loch at about 4.20pm on Thursday, August 11 last year, Magistrate Stephen Ballek committed the accused man to stand trial in the Melbourne County Court on 10 charges.
The charges include: (1.) drive in a manner dangerous, (2.) fail to render assistance at the scene of an accident, (3.) drive while disqualified, (6.) drive under the influence of THC (cannabis) and (7.) possession of a controlled weapon.
At the conclusion of a committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court last Friday, July 7, Magistrate Ballek said he was satisfied that there was sufficient evidence, on charges 1, 2 and 10, to produce a conviction and he ordered that Colverd stand trial.
Charge 10 is the most serious of those being faced by the accused man, as follows: “The accused at Jeetho on Thursday, August 11, 2022 did by the culpable driving of a motor vehicle, cause the death of Noah Peacock.”
Typically, according to the County Court Victoria, a person convicted of culpable driving of a motor vehicle causing death can expect a custodial sentence of between 3 and 13 years with 7-9 years common.
Mr Colverd, who appeared by video link, entered a plea of not guilty.
There will be a directions’ hearing in the Melbourne County Court on Friday, August 4, with 10 days set aside for the trial.
Principal Solicitor Advocate at the Office of Public Prosecutions, Ben Kerlin, said he expected to call 17 witnesses and two expert witnesses. Legal counsel for Mr Colvert, Bethany East, added that the defence would likely call its own expert witness.
Ms East made no application for bail, but she did provide some insight into a possible defence, including that Mr Colverd's dog, seen escaping from the car after the collision, might have jumped into the accused’s lap and caused him to lose control.
She also raised doubts about her client’s level of impairment and the possibility that his behaviour at the scene might have been the result of shock after a collision at 100km/h.
Family members and friends of the deceased, a popular local footballer, basketballer and second-year apprentice glazier, filled the gallery in Court 8 at the Melbourne Magistrates Court for the committal hearing.
