Home

Eastern Freeway crash: Sydney truck company in court for alleged breaches which led to death of four Victoria police officers

Heath Parkes-HuptonNCA NewsWire
A Sydney truck company and three senior figures are before the courts over the fatal Eastern Freeway crash in Melbourne last year. Aaron Francis
Camera IconA Sydney truck company and three senior figures are before the courts over the fatal Eastern Freeway crash in Melbourne last year. Aaron Francis Credit: News Corp Australia

A Sydney-based truck company’s litany of alleged workplace safety breaches manifested in the deaths of four police officers on the side of a Melbourne highway last year, a court has heard.

Connect Logistics and three of its senior managers have appeared in court for the first time 18 months after the fatal crash caused by contract truck driver Mohinder Singh.

Leading Senior Constable Lynnette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Glen Humphris and Constable Joshua Prestney were killed at Kew when the drug-addled Singh lost control of a semi-trailer on April 22, 2020.

News image photo
Camera Icon(L-R) Senior Constable Kevin King, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Constable Joshua Prestney. AAP Image/Supplied by Victoria Police Credit: Supplied

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

The officers had pulled over a speeding Porsche driven by Richard Pusey before they died tragically in the breakdown lane of the Eastern Freeway.

Connect Logistics, in Riverstone, and three men have now been charged with category one and two offences under the Heavy Vehicle National Law following an investigation by Victoria Police’s Taskforce Paragon.

The men charged under so-called “chain of responsibility” provisions are Connect’s managing director Corey Matthews and national manager Cris Large, both of Kenthurst, and state manager Shane Chalmers, who is based in Queensland.

Constable Glen Humphris.
Camera IconConstable Glen Humphris. Credit: Supplied

Documents before Parramatta Local Court allege the company breached the laws by “asking, directing, requiring or permitting” Singh to work on April 22 last year.

Among the long list of alleged breaches, the court heard the company allegedly put the public at risk by allowing Singh to work when “he had informed the company that he was not in a suitably fit state to perform his driving tasks safely and competently”.

The court has heard the company also allegedly failed to require Singh to undergo independent drug and alcohol testing, and failed to provide a safe working environment for all staff.

“As a result of (its) failures, individuals, in particular leading senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Glen Humphris, Constable Josh Prestney, Richard Pusey and Mohinder Singh, were exposed to a risk of death or serious injury,” the documents allege.

“The fatal injuries of (the police officers) on April 22, 2020 were a manifestation of the risk.”

Supreme Court - Truck Shot
Camera IconMohinder Singh was jailed for 22 years. David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia
MAGISTRATES COURT
Camera IconSimiona Tuteru, a Connect Logistics manager, has pleaded guilty to serious charges over the Eastern Freeway crash. David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia

The court heard the company and its high-ranking managers failed to ensure staff abided by legislated work hours, with the documents alleging drivers were “directed or permitted” to submit falsified work and rest records.

The company and Mr Matthews, Mr Large and Mr Chalmers face the most serious offences available under the Act.

Category one offences carry a maximum penalty of $300,000 and/or five years imprisonment for an individual and $3 million for a corporation.

Category two offences carry a maximum penalty of $150,000 for an individual and $1.5 million for a corporation.

All four matters were mentioned before the court on Tuesday, where lawyers for the accused asked for an eight-week adjournment to pore over prosecution evidence.

The court heard the police brief was more than 3000 pages long.

None of the men charged appeared in person and their matters have been adjourned to November.

They are yet to enter pleas.

Connect Logistics’ headquarters and two homes linked to the business were raided in May 2020, the month after the devastating crash in Melbourne’s inner suburbs.

The officers had stopped Mr Pusey’s Porsche when a Connect Logistics truck driven by Singh slammed into the officers and police vehicles.

Singh later pleaded guilty to four counts of culpable driving causing death and was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

The ice user admitted in court to being sleep-deprived and drug-affected when he ploughed into the officers.

His former boss Simiona Tuteru, a Connect Logistics employee, faces more than 70 charges in relation to the fatal crash including four counts of manslaughter by criminal negligence.

Mr Tuteru has pleaded not guilty and has been committed to stand trial in Victoria’s Supreme Court.

Pusey was jailed for 10 months for his role in the tragedy, which included him filming and mocking the dying police officers.

He pleaded guilty to the rare charge of outraging public decency and other offences.

Originally published as Eastern Freeway crash: Sydney truck company in court for alleged breaches which led to death of four Victoria police officers

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails