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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/19/kalgoorlie-driver-who-ran-over-elijah-doughty-says-actions-not-unsafe
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| Kalgoorlie driver who ran over Elijah Doughty says actions not 'unsafe' | Kalgoorlie driver who ran over Elijah Doughty says actions not 'unsafe' |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| A Kalgoorlie man who admitted to chasing and running over a 14-year-old boy on a motorcycle said he would not have thought his actions were “unsafe” if it had not resulted in a death, later adding “hindsight’s a beautiful thing.” | A Kalgoorlie man who admitted to chasing and running over a 14-year-old boy on a motorcycle said he would not have thought his actions were “unsafe” if it had not resulted in a death, later adding “hindsight’s a beautiful thing.” |
| The 56-year-old man , who cannot be identified, told police in an interview almost eight hours after the crash that killed Noongar and Wongatha boy Elijah Doughty that he would not normally drive that close to another vehicle “because normally I was not doing pursuits.” | The 56-year-old man , who cannot be identified, told police in an interview almost eight hours after the crash that killed Noongar and Wongatha boy Elijah Doughty that he would not normally drive that close to another vehicle “because normally I was not doing pursuits.” |
| He also complained about being a victim of several burglaries, saying “our life here is finished.” | He also complained about being a victim of several burglaries, saying “our life here is finished.” |
| Doughty died when the motorcycle he was riding tumbled under a 4WD Nissan Navara ute on a dirt track at Gribble Creek Reserve in Kalgoorlie-Boulder just before 9am on 29 August, 2016. | Doughty died when the motorcycle he was riding tumbled under a 4WD Nissan Navara ute on a dirt track at Gribble Creek Reserve in Kalgoorlie-Boulder just before 9am on 29 August, 2016. |
| The ute was driven by the Kalgoorlie man, who has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter but admitted he was guilty of the lesser charge of dangerous driving causing death. | The ute was driven by the Kalgoorlie man, who has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter but admitted he was guilty of the lesser charge of dangerous driving causing death. |
| In a 90-minute-long recorded interview with Kalgoorlie detectives, which was played in a trial at the supreme court in Perth on Thursday, the man said he had gone to the Gribble Creek Reserve that morning looking for two motorbikes that had been stolen from a padlocked shipping container in his yard the night before. | In a 90-minute-long recorded interview with Kalgoorlie detectives, which was played in a trial at the supreme court in Perth on Thursday, the man said he had gone to the Gribble Creek Reserve that morning looking for two motorbikes that had been stolen from a padlocked shipping container in his yard the night before. |
| One was a 35-year-old red Honda which had sentimental value to his wife but which was not, despite his best efforts to start it, currently running. The second was a $500, 70cc red Zhejiang motorbike belonging to one of his sons. | One was a 35-year-old red Honda which had sentimental value to his wife but which was not, despite his best efforts to start it, currently running. The second was a $500, 70cc red Zhejiang motorbike belonging to one of his sons. |
| He had discovered the bikes missing about 8.30pm the night before and called police, one of whom, he said, told him to look for the broken Honda in Gribble Creek Reserve, describing it as a “dumping ground.” | He had discovered the bikes missing about 8.30pm the night before and called police, one of whom, he said, told him to look for the broken Honda in Gribble Creek Reserve, describing it as a “dumping ground.” |
| He looked for the bikes on foot that night and jumped in his car at 6am the next morning to continue the search. About 8.30am, he was sitting with his engine off and windows down in North Terrace, a road that flows on to the Gribble Creek reserve, when he said he heard a motorbike. At Clancy Street, one block over, he saw a rider in a black hooded jumper on a small red motorbike. | He looked for the bikes on foot that night and jumped in his car at 6am the next morning to continue the search. About 8.30am, he was sitting with his engine off and windows down in North Terrace, a road that flows on to the Gribble Creek reserve, when he said he heard a motorbike. At Clancy Street, one block over, he saw a rider in a black hooded jumper on a small red motorbike. |
| “He has looked at me and then just gone,” he told police. “And that’s when I have given chase.” | “He has looked at me and then just gone,” he told police. “And that’s when I have given chase.” |
| The man said he followed the motorcycle on a dirt track into the reserve, heading southwest from Clancy Street toward a road that curved around to the left before the creek bed. | The man said he followed the motorcycle on a dirt track into the reserve, heading southwest from Clancy Street toward a road that curved around to the left before the creek bed. |
| “As we were going around the corner, I was really close to him,” he said. | “As we were going around the corner, I was really close to him,” he said. |
| “I take it he didn’t know how close I was. He was in front of me, and I have hit him ... he was to my left hand side. He tried to go in front of me but I was already there. I couldn’t stop … I have gone over the top of him.” | “I take it he didn’t know how close I was. He was in front of me, and I have hit him ... he was to my left hand side. He tried to go in front of me but I was already there. I couldn’t stop … I have gone over the top of him.” |
| Asked what his intention was in chasing the bike, the man said he did not believe he would be able to catch up to the motorcycle, saying “I thought the motorcycle would outpower the Navara.” | Asked what his intention was in chasing the bike, the man said he did not believe he would be able to catch up to the motorcycle, saying “I thought the motorcycle would outpower the Navara.” |
| Asked if he would drive like that in normal circumstances, he said no. | Asked if he would drive like that in normal circumstances, he said no. |
| “Normal circumstances I would not be driving like that but then again normal circumstances I would not be trying to catch up with a motorbike that I know – I think – is mine, and hoping that the rider would go into the bush and fall off.” | “Normal circumstances I would not be driving like that but then again normal circumstances I would not be trying to catch up with a motorbike that I know – I think – is mine, and hoping that the rider would go into the bush and fall off.” |
| He said his driving “obviously … wasn’t safe or we would not be here” but that the car “was not fishtailing, I was not out of control”. | He said his driving “obviously … wasn’t safe or we would not be here” but that the car “was not fishtailing, I was not out of control”. |
| “If the end didn’t happen, was I driving unsafe, I would say no,” he said. “But when you have got the results now, you would say yes.” | “If the end didn’t happen, was I driving unsafe, I would say no,” he said. “But when you have got the results now, you would say yes.” |
| He denied attempting to scare the rider into falling off the bike, or accidentally nudging it. | He denied attempting to scare the rider into falling off the bike, or accidentally nudging it. |
| “What did you think was going to happen, when you chased a motorbike off road?” a detective asked. | “What did you think was going to happen, when you chased a motorbike off road?” a detective asked. |
| “As I said earlier, I didn’t think about it at all,” the man said. “I didn’t think I would get that close ... I didn’t think I would be able to catch up to the rider.” | “As I said earlier, I didn’t think about it at all,” the man said. “I didn’t think I would get that close ... I didn’t think I would be able to catch up to the rider.” |
| The man said he was frustrated because it was the third time motorcycles had been stolen from his house, and suggested some of the fault lay with the police officer who told him to look for his non-working bike under bushes in the reserve. | The man said he was frustrated because it was the third time motorcycles had been stolen from his house, and suggested some of the fault lay with the police officer who told him to look for his non-working bike under bushes in the reserve. |
| “In hindsight I wish I wasn’t told to go down and have a look under the bushes – ‘that’s where they dump motorbikes’,” he said. “I’m not blaming anyone… (but) you don’t go and question the police officer who told me that. Tell him: what was your intention in telling me to go down there and look for it. | “In hindsight I wish I wasn’t told to go down and have a look under the bushes – ‘that’s where they dump motorbikes’,” he said. “I’m not blaming anyone… (but) you don’t go and question the police officer who told me that. Tell him: what was your intention in telling me to go down there and look for it. |
| “I just wanted my kids’ motorbike… I don’t think my kids will ever have a motorbike again if that’s what’s inviting people into our life to steal and take from my kids, it’s not worth it,” he said. | “I just wanted my kids’ motorbike… I don’t think my kids will ever have a motorbike again if that’s what’s inviting people into our life to steal and take from my kids, it’s not worth it,” he said. |
| “If I am released from here tomorrow, on bail or whatever, I’ll go straight to the real estate agent, put the “for sale” sign up, because our life here is finished. | “If I am released from here tomorrow, on bail or whatever, I’ll go straight to the real estate agent, put the “for sale” sign up, because our life here is finished. |
| “We came here for a good future. We didn’t come here for this. We didn’t come here to have motorbikes stolen, padlocks broken. | “We came here for a good future. We didn’t come here for this. We didn’t come here to have motorbikes stolen, padlocks broken. |
| He finished the interview by saying: “Let due course happen.” | He finished the interview by saying: “Let due course happen.” |
| Forensic pathologist Dr Jodie White told the court that Elijah had been struck with enough force to split his skull and sever his spinal cord, killing him instantly. He had multiple fractures to the right hand side and base of his skull, 11 broken ribs, a broken spinal column in his mid back, and an open compound fracture to his right leg: all injuries consistent with being tumbled under a vehicle, White said. | Forensic pathologist Dr Jodie White told the court that Elijah had been struck with enough force to split his skull and sever his spinal cord, killing him instantly. He had multiple fractures to the right hand side and base of his skull, 11 broken ribs, a broken spinal column in his mid back, and an open compound fracture to his right leg: all injuries consistent with being tumbled under a vehicle, White said. |
| Earlier the court heard evidence from three police officers, who said the wreckage of the motorcycle was strewn over several metres before Elijah’s body. | Earlier the court heard evidence from three police officers, who said the wreckage of the motorcycle was strewn over several metres before Elijah’s body. |
| A diagram by senior constable Richard Buchanan showed the wreckage of the bike was spread 10.3 metres past the suspected point of impact in the curve in the track, and the body was 9.5 metres further on. The Navara had come to rest almost 34 metres away, on the other side of the creek bed and up and embankment. | A diagram by senior constable Richard Buchanan showed the wreckage of the bike was spread 10.3 metres past the suspected point of impact in the curve in the track, and the body was 9.5 metres further on. The Navara had come to rest almost 34 metres away, on the other side of the creek bed and up and embankment. |
| All three officers said the surface of the dirt track that morning was damp, bumpy, and uneven. | All three officers said the surface of the dirt track that morning was damp, bumpy, and uneven. |
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