A moment of inattention behind the wheel led to the death of an elderly Hobart man, a coroner has found, in a crash she said showed how quickly lives could be lost on the road.
Graham John McKay, 82, was a front-seat passenger in a car driven by his wife on Flagstaff Gully Link Road at Warrane on the morning of July 15, 2023.
At 10:48am, Rodney Horne turned his Jeep Cherokee right across the southbound lane to reach an access ramp to the Tasman Highway.
He failed to give way and collided with the McKays’ car.
Horne told investigators he did not see the oncoming vehicle before turning.
Coroner Leigh Mackey found McKay’s wife had been driving lawfully, within her lane and below the 60km/h speed limit and had no time to react.
McKay was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital with fractures to his hip, ribs and sternum.
His condition worsened after he developed pneumonia and was placed on a ventilator in intensive care.
He died on July 20, 2023, five days after the collision. His cause of death was respiratory failure.
Mackey found there was no explanation for Horne’s lapse in attention.
Neither driver had alcohol or drugs in their system, Horne had a long and reliable driving record and nothing obstructed his view, she said.
Phone records showed an incoming call lasting zero seconds at the time of the crash.
“The evidence does not permit a finding as to whether Mr Horne was aware of the incoming call, reacted to it or was distracted by it or indeed if the call was incoming prior to, at the time of or, after the collision occurred,” the coroner said.
Horne pleaded guilty to causing death by negligent driving.
He was sentenced to three months in jail, wholly suspended for two years, fined $98.50 and disqualified from driving for 15 months.
“This accident serves as a reminder of how mere momentary inattention whilst driving on our road network can result in devastation and loss of life,” the coroner said.
