Monday, September 1, 2008

Court watches graphic video of Burnley tunnel crash

A dramatic video of last year's fatal smash in Melbourne's Burnley tunnel has been played in a Melbourne court room.

The Citylink video shows a truck with a flat tyre stopping in the left lane.

Truck driver Donald Micallef said he thought that was the safest place to pull over.

A couple of minutes later, Mr Micallef heard the screech of engine brakes.

A truck driven by David Kalwig side-swiped two cars, sparking a chain reaction of ten accidents.

The court was told other cars and trucks had slowed to 30 kilometres an hour but Mr Kalwig was travelling at more than twice that speed when he crashed.

Three drivers were killed in the ensuing fire.

David Kalwig is facing a committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on three counts of culpable driving.

His lawyer fought against the release of the video saying it does not put into context other factors Mr Kalwig had to consider.

But the Magistrate has released the vision, saying while parts are graphic, it will not prejudice potential jurors.

The footage also shows a police car passing the broken down truck shortly before the accident, but the officer in the car told the court he did not think of stopping.

The committal hearing is expected to continue for four days.

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