Investigation Report N
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| Party host: I only just arrived so I'm a little bit unclear myself.
Triple O Operator: Ok, all right. Party host: I think the ute has backed over some people sleeping in a swag. Triple O Operator: Ok. Reporter: By now the couple have been kept alive by their friends for 20 minutes. Caller 2: Oh yep, I can see the lights coming down the road now. Triple O Operator: Great, there you go. Caller 2: Yep. Triple O Operator: All right you've done a really good job there. Caller 2: Yep. Reporter: At 5.37am the ambulance arrives and the paramedics take over. Paramedic: It was very sombre. They were very aware of how serious this whole scenario was. Very, very sombre, very flat and very quiet. Reporter: [EW] and [WD], friends since high school, are barely alive. Could you see their faces? School friend 2: Yeah. Reporter: How did they look? School friend 2: Cold. Um, yeah, just cold and lifeless. Reporter: [EW]’s parents have no idea what's happening to their daughter until the phone wakes them. EW’s mother: And I picked it up and it was Mr [name], and he said there's been an accident. And I remember yelling and saying is [EW] okay? Is [EW] okay? And he said, they're doing CPR on her at the moment. EW’s father: So I heard [my wife] then say: '…is she dead?' And that certainly changes your whole approach at those early hours as you're waking up. Reporter: [EW’s parents] head for Molong. Can you describe the scene? EW’s father: It was, it was carnage. Um is the best way I can describe it. EW’s mother: There was lots of cars, I just remember all the cars. It was in a big paddock. It was like a car park. That's what it was like. Reporter: As you reached [EW], can I ask you how she looked? EW’s mother: She was just very still at that stage. She was, her face was still, her face was still beautiful. Paramedic: She was shattered; she was desperate as she was begging for a positive response from our treatment and [EW]. She was as desperate as any mother would be faced with the fear of losing her daughter. EW’s mother: And I just kept talking to her. I just kept saying: ‘You've got to hang on darling, you've got to hang on, you've really got to fight’. EW’s father: And also we had [WD] beside us at this time too, and I remember saying: ‘Oh God, there's another one’. Reporter: The [W family] don't notice the local Police arrive and breathalyse the driver. At Orange Hospital, [WD]'s mother [name] is waiting for her son. WD’s mother: He was on a ventilator. He was unmarked except for a slight graze over his left shoulder. Reporter: But his injuries were fatal. [WD] and [EW] had been crushed by a ute while they were sleeping together in their swag. EW’s father: All we were hearing was that a swag had been run over and that it was a terrible accident. We couldn't understand why [WD] and [EW] would put a swag behind a, or next to a ute as we were hearing. WD’s mother: I was constantly told, in ICU, no alcohol involved; it's all just a terrible accident. There was no irresponsible behaviour, there was no irresponsible driving; no alcohol; we're not going to lie to you. One detective kept saying to me over and over again, we're not going to lie to you. Reporter: On the 27th of January 2010 at four in the morning, [EW] died. [WD] seven hours later. WD’s mother: We all held him…as the machine was switched off, and I put my hand over his heart (starts to cry)…and after the machine was turned off his heart kept on beating…and I was terrified…but it stopped. His heart stopped beating. Reporter: As you left the hospital... EW’s mother: Which is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, to leave the room, to turn your back for that last time is the worst thing that anybody would ever have to do. That's what haunts me still. I keep saying to myself: ‘I should have looked back again, I should have─’ [begins to cry]. I just want one more look. I just want to be able to see her one more time. Reporter: Leaving the hospital, [EW’s father] was approached by the local Police. EW’s father: They asked me if they could do anything. Reporter: What did you tell them? EW’s father: Just do your job. News reporter 1: Police are investigating the incident at a party on [road] near Molong yesterday, they've ruled out alcohol as a factor. The 19 year olds were with a group of 30 others. Police say it's a tragic accident. News reporter 2: The 17 year old driver of the utility is cooperating with Police. Reporter: The following day, the local Police in Orange went public. Explaining what happened, one statement stood out. Police spokesman: Police are making a number of investigations, we don't believe alcohol is a factor in this accident. Reporter: When Inspector [name] told the nation that this was nothing more than a tragic accident at a party of about 30 campers, and that alcohol wasn't a factor, the community trusted that this was the case. But in reality, the truth was very different. To find out what really happened that morning, you need to go back. Three years ago, to Australia Day 2010. It was end of the summer holidays and [WD] had just arrived back from a gap year in Africa. School friend 1: There was no-one that didn't like [WD]; he was one of those rare people I guess that just, got along with everyone. He was kind, knew how to have a laugh. Cheeky I guess. Reporter: Stylish and confident, [EW] was back in Orange after a holiday in Paris. What was [EW] like? School friend 1: I really like [EW], she was, one of a kind. Just a nice, beautiful person. Reporter: [WD] and [EW] had graduated from the elite [school name] in 2008, a co-ed private boarding school in Orange. [WD] and [EW]'s school friend was throwing an Australia Day party on his parents’ farm [name] in Molong. It was BYO and his parents, [names], attended that night. [Mother’s name] told her 19 year-old son that she and [father’s name] weren't having anything to do with the party; that he and his friends were adults now, and they were responsible for everything. But they weren't all adults. School friend 1: I have heard of a couple of the parties at Molong getting a bit more out of hand, umm, I think this party was a bit of a mix. Reporter: It was a mix of age groups. The [host’s] younger son, then 17 years old, had also extended the invite to his friends on Facebook; kids from the local area. WD’s mother: There were children as young as 15 at this party. No keys were collected. There was not even the basics that you would do if you were prepared to take the risk of having this type of party, you'd at least take some measures to ensure that the children were safe. And one of the most logical would be: everybody put their keys in a bucket and they don't get their keys until the following morning. Reporter: [WD] and his friends arrived at [property name] at around 2pm. School friend 2: Australia Day, it was gonna act as a good central point for everyone who had been doing their own thing, sort of, over the Christmas break and a good chance for everyone to touch base with each other before uni, unis and jobs kicked off. Reporter: The stage was set for a big night. With a combination of younger and older kids, the numbers swelled to over 100 party goers. Aged between 15 and 20. Inside the wool shed was the dance floor. Nearby, a flat, dry paddock where cars were parked. School friend 2: More people just kept arriving, just as a constant flow of people into the night. Reporter: The plan for most was to drink through the night and not drive. To camp in swags or sleep in their cars. Why doesn't everyone drive home? School friend 3: Because usually everyone's been drinking. Reporter: So you'd be over the limit? School friend 3: Yep. School friend 5: There was a definitely a binge drinking culture ah, at, at those parties. School friend 3: Oh, obviously there was a few people partying pretty hard. Reporter: How many drinks would you and your friends be likely to be able to handle at a party? School friend 3: Personally myself, not many, but there's plenty that could drink heaps. Reporter: What's heaps? School friend 3: I don't even know. Reporter: Twelve plus? School friend 3: Twelve plus. Reporter: Another paddock was set aside for circle work. A popular past time at country parties, where cars and utes are modified to do burnouts and donuts. At 8pm, [EW] and her girlfriends arrived at [property name]. She and [WD] quickly found one another. And what was [EW] doing? School friend 6: I saw her at the fire chatting with people, I saw her twirling on the dance floor and I saw her drinking. I think she was having a great time. Reporter: At around 9pm, 17 year old [RC] arrived, driving his new ute. He didn't have a licence; he was on his L plates. But on that night, against the law, he took his friends out for rides on the highway. W family solicitor: Alcohol, high powered utes, and some driving manoeuvres which wouldn't be legal like on a public street. Reporter: As an L plate driver [RC] wasn't allowed to drink. But he was seen drinking alcohol throughout the night. As morning approached, [WD] swapped from drinking beer to Pepsi. School friend 6: My last memory of [EW] is seeing her in the distance kissing [WD], and the two of them were together and yeah that, that's my last memory of [EW]. Reporter: How did they look? School friend 2: Probably the best they've looked. Yeah no they both looked great, so─ Reporter: There was a romance blossoming? School friend 2: In the, in the process of, potentially. Reporter: At 3am the party was slowing down. Many had gone to bed in swags on the ground or in the back of a ute. With no car to sleep in, [EW] and [WD] climbed into the one swag and camped on the ground next to the sheep pens, around 20 metres from where the nearest cars were parked. Reporter: Do you think they slept in a place that they shouldn't have? Do you think they put their swag in a dumb place? School friend 2: There's no right or wrong, umm, it was quite typical, the whole party in itself was quite typical. Reporter: They didn't sleep somewhere that put them in danger then? School friend 2: I'd say no. Reporter: As dawn approached, a group of stragglers continued to party. 19 year old [party attendee] was in the back of his ute. Reporter: Did you go to bed? School friend 7: Umm, no I didn't, as, well, no. Reporter: So what were you doing? School friend 7: Umm, just sitting having a beer chilling, enjoying the party. Reporter: A short distance away at around a quarter to five in the morning, the unlicenced [RC] got into his black ute. He turned the engine on and the radio, but not his lights. School friend 5: Basically all I was told was: he wanted to leave early because he didn't want to get caught by the Police, and it was that, that either because he was A, drink driving or B, underage. He didn't want to get caught driving on his L’s, so he wanted to get home before the Police were patrolling the roads. Reporter: And what happened next? School friend 7: Umm. I remember seeing [RC]’s or, umm car move. But I sorta didn't, didn't sorta take any notice of it. Reporter: [School friend 7] watched [RC]'s car quickly reverse about 20 metres into the darkness, then come to a sudden stop next to the sheep pens. A new sound filled the air. Reporter: You remember hearing it revving? School friend 7: Yeah I remember hearing the car was running yeah, and but I didn't think anything of it. Reporter: [WD] and [EW] were trapped underneath - the spinning tyres catching and tightening the swag around them. Reporter: What was it spinning on? EW’s father: It was spinning on the swag. It was spinning on [EW]. And [WD]. WD’s mother: I just have nightmares─ about the pain [WD] experienced, because he couldn't get his next breath. His chest was so compressed with this car sitting on top of it, let alone the wheels spinning─ and he's trapped in a sleeping bag. He's like a lamb to the slaughter. Reporter: Police photos show the swag was covered in thick, black tyre marks. At 4:52am [RC] repeatedly rang his friend [name] - five times in the space of just 17 seconds - until she finally answered. Actor (RC): I'm bogged pretty bad. Reporter: He told her he needed help, that his ute was bogged. But when [school friend 7] walked past a few minutes later, [RC] told him something very different. School friend 7: I was walking to the shed and that's when I ran into [RC]. And he was upset so, yeah. Reporter: He was upset. What was he doing? School friend 7: Umm, he was in bit a shock, I think, and sorta realised what had happened and said didn't know what to do I guess, sort a panicked. Reporter: And what did he tell you that had happened? School friend 7: Ahh, that he'd run over or killed [other name] and someone else yeah. Reporter: [RC] thought he'd run over someone he knew. You must have been shocked hearing that? School friend 7: Yeah I sorta didn't know how to take it at the time yeah. I didn't─ I didn't know if it was a sort of joke or what but yeah, and then we went over there and realised it was serious, so─ Reporter: And what did he show you? School friend 7: Umm, just pointed sorta at the swag, where the swag was and, yeah. Reporter: And where was the swag? School friend 7: It was under the car at the time yeah. I remember I had a look and touched the swag. Reporter: And what did you feel? School friend 7: Ahh, I felt a body in there and, yeah. Then from then sorta realised that someone was still stuck under there and─ Reporter: Were they moving? School friend 7: Ahh, no, no. Reporter: By the time Triple 0 was called, [WD] and [EW] had been trapped under the 1.5 tonne ute for almost 20 minutes. A group of boys lifted the car and dragged the swag out from underneath. Actor: Five, six, seven, eight. Five, six, seven, eight─ Reporter: What did you see? School friend 2: Just them two, they were laying on top of the swag and people performing CPR and─ Reporter: They must be images you struggle with? School friend 2: I can, it's definitely, it's definitely burnt in, etched into my mind, definitely. Reporter: The 17 year old L-plate driver was being comforted by his friends. School friend 3: I thought: ‘You poor bastard, you're gonna have to live with this for the rest of your life’. And the first person I thought about wasn't any of my mates or their parents, I just, for some reason I just thought, that's gonna be pretty tough to deal with. Reporter: That night, the unlicenced driver had repeatedly and illegally driven his ute on the highway. He'd also been drinking. He then ran over two people - ending in a double fatality. For [RC], consequences appeared inevitable. [DW] QC has examined the Police investigation of the case. DW QC: I considered whether or not a question of driving in a manner dangerous to the public, provided an appropriate investigation was conducted, or failure to assist. But it appeared to me that none of these matters were the subject of the level of inquiry that I would expect from seasoned Police officers where you have two young people dead. It can't get much worse than that, and they are killed by a motor car driven by somebody who shouldn't be driving. Reporter: At 6am, the first Police officers from Orange arrived on the scene. They knew there was a possible double fatality. Problem was, it had happened on private property. Under NSW traffic legislation, driving offences can only be pursued by Police if they occur on a road related area or a public road. DW QC: It does seem somewhat paradoxical that the presence of a boundary fence can make such a difference in outcome. It's difficult to see why it should be less offensive to cause death on a private property than it is on the other side of the fence on the road. Reporter: In NSW, it's up to Police on the scene to decide whether or not it's a road related area. W family lawyer: The objective factors are it was it was a farm but it, the area that was being used at the time was being used as a carpark. And the test is whether the carpark was open to or being used by the public. Reporter: The Police counted up to 60 cars and the gates were open. They quickly decided the location resembled a public car park, and treated it as a road related area. This meant they could pursue driving offences and legally breath-test the driver. By now, nearly two hours have passed since [RC] ran over [WD] and [EW]. Actor (Police officer): Have you had a drink in the last 15 minutes? Reporter: Did Police ask, at that moment, did they ask the driver [RC]: ‘Have you been drinking?’ D family lawyer: I think the question that they asked him from memory is, ‘have you had a drink in the last 15 minutes’, rather than ‘have you been drinking’. Reporter: We're talking about a potential double fatality here at the moment─ D family lawyer: Correct. Reporter: ─Police arrive. D family lawyer: Correct. Reporter: And the only question they ask of the driver─ D family lawyer: ─is: ‘Have you been drinking in the last 15 minutes’. Reporter: 15 minutes. D family lawyer: And umm that, that's correct. Reporter: The Police didn't ask [RC] if he'd been drinking at the party. And that morning [RC] blew zero. According to the breathalyser he didn't have a drop of alcohol in his blood. But the reading was false. We now know the Police were using a broken breathalyser - this document shows it wasn't detecting any alcohol at all. It was sent off for repair one week after the incident. WD’s mother: The alcolizer, the machine that was used was faulty and had to be sent away for repair and recalibration, that it wasn't just a little bit out. Reporter: [Police officer 1] and [Police officer 2] arrived on the scene. They were told to take the driver to hospital for a blood and urine test. They recognised the name [RC]. [RC] was the son of one of their own. D family lawyer: [Police officer 2] was the officer on duty. [Police officer 2] recognised him, asked him if his father was [name]. And when he was then, [Police officer 2] gave him the phone, said: ‘Look you better ring your father’. Reporter: [RC]'s father [name], a senior highway patrol officer at Orange Police for three years - a close colleague and friend of [Police officer 1 and Police officer 2] - was stationed six hours away, on the NSW mid north coast. Inside the Police car, using [Police officer 2]’s own mobile phone, 17 year old [RC] had a private conversation with his dad. Reporter: What was discussed in that conversation? D family lawyer: Well, umm, I don't know. The─ we were never told what was discussed. W family lawyer: There is always a need for transparency and clarity, and what they should have done was demonstrated that transparency and clarity by referring the investigation to somebody who had nothing to do with the Police officer whose son was involved in this accident, or the officers who knew that Police officer. Reporter: At 7:00am, as [Police officer 1 and Police officer 2] left [property name] with [RC], the detective in charge, [GG], arrived and began to document the area. His photos show the ground is scattered with empty rum cans and beer bottles. [WD] and [EW]'s swag is up close next to the railing of the sheep pen, well away from the rows of parked cars. Next to it, [WD’s] Australia Day sombrero hat. [EW]'s rubber thongs. The swag wasn't forensically examined. [GG] took only three photos of the car. Two of them show a white esky sitting in the tray. But [GG] didn't venture any closer, choosing not to look inside. Instead of examining the car and its contents, according to his handwritten notes, [GG] took a handful of witness names and phone numbers before leaving the scene. Over the coming weeks, Police took statements from only a quarter of the partygoers. Beyond that, there was no forensic investigation. W family lawyer: If it had happened on a highway with two people dead and it was on the front page of every of paper and on the national news, there would have been Police investigators crawling all over it, there would have been photographs, measurements, reconstructions and they would have a─ at least some version of events from the driver. Reporter: But they didn't. Almost three hours after the incident, a blood and urine sample was taken. The detective in charge, [GG], then sent [RC] home. DW QC: It makes one wonder whether or not that rigorous, independent assessment that ought to have been applied to this case was in fact brought to bear. And simply put, I don't think it was. The material ought to have been put to the young driver. He was asked nothing about the circumstances. I don't think he was asked a question about the circumstances of the accident. And to me, that seems to be extraordinary. Reporter: The next day, the day after his daughter died, a grieving [EW’s father] was called in to Orange Police station. They had something to tell him. EW’s father: They told me that the driver of the car was a son of a Policeman, who had been formerly stationed at Orange Police Station. Reporter: Was that a conflict of interest to you? EW’s father: They declared it as a conflict of interest, they, they used that terminology, and so I was led to be, led to understand that there would be a, a very different way that the investigation would be carried out, that it would be carried out appropriately. Directory: media -> Broadcasting%20Investigations -> Investigation%20reports -> TV%20investigations media -> Biblical Eschatology Presentation by: D. Paul Beck May 4, 2016 Ground Rules media -> Guide to completing the collection using the Omnibus system media -> The milk carton kids media -> Events Date and Location media -> The Gilded Age: The First Generation of Historians by H. Wayne Morgan University of Oklahoma, April 18, 1997 media -> Analysis of Law in the United Kingdom pertaining to Cross-Border Disaster Relief Prepared by: For the 30 June 2010 Foreword media -> Cuba fieldcourse 2010 TV%20investigations -> Investigation Report N Download 383.46 Kb. Share with your friends:
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