A man was cleared of any wrongdoing after his newlywed wife died when their golf buggy overturned while they were on their honeymoon in Hamilton Island, Queensland, on June 30, 2022.
Marina Hanna, who was from Sydney, was killed when the vehicle, which was being operated by Robbie Awad, hit a tree. The couple had been staying at the five star Qualia resort.
According to the court, Mr Awad was trying to make a U-turn on the island when the vehicle’s battery started to run low.
This caused the buggy to overturn and crush Ms. Hanna. On Friday, a court ruled that he was not guilty of causing her death.
Karrie O’Callaghan, a magistrate from Proserpine, ruled that the U-turn that occurred on June 20, 2022 did not go beyond what a reasonable person would do.
Prior to his trial, he had pleaded guilty to various charges, such as not wearing a seatbelt, using his phone while driving, and not ensuring that his passenger was properly restrained.
Awad maintained that the buggy was faulty and that he was not guilty of causing the death of his wife.
Prior to the tragic incident, he had been worried that the vehicle’s battery might run out.
He was trying to make a U-turn to return to the resort when the accident occurred. Unfortunately, the vehicle crashed and killed Ms. Hanna.
The judge stated that if the couple had been using seatbelts, the outcome would not have changed.
Both the defense and the prosecution used different forensic experts to analyze the cause of the accident.
During the court’s session, a prosecution witness, Gemma Williamson, said that the crash was caused by various factors, such as the terrain and the fact both of them were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the incident.
On Friday morning, the defense called Grant Johnston, a former traffic engineer for NRMA.
He told the court that the couple’s decision not to wear seatbelts would have only made a marginal difference in the outcome of the accident.
Another witness, Michael Hollett, said that if Awad had chosen a less steep and smoother path to complete the U-turn, the incident might not have happened.
Johnston explained that the best way to perform the U-turn was to go uphill and then reverse.
He was asked by the court to compare his findings to those of the forensic experts.
He noted that the police’s suggestion to use an alternate route might not have eliminated the risks of the buggy flipping.
According to Mr Johnston, an unexpected acceleration could have caused the vehicle to crash even if the buggy had followed an alternate route.
Magistrate O’Callaghan imposed a fine of $3483 on Awad for not ensuring that his passengers were properly restrained and for using his phone while driving.