When it comes to a Picton Rd crash, there are no winners.
That was the feeling in Wollongong Local Court yesterday, as Daniel Scott Field, a hard-working father of two, was sentenced for causing a fatal accident on the notoriously dangerous stretch of road.
Field was supported in court by his wife and their two-week-old baby.
Taking Field’s early guilty plea and obvious remorse into account, Magistrate David Degan gave Field an 11-month suspended prison sentence and placed him on a good behaviour bond for the same period. He disqualified Field from driving for 18 months.
Field was not speeding, drinking or using his mobile phone when the crash occurred on January 19 - he simply misjudged the traffic as he turned across the road.
Had the crash happened anywhere else it would have caused little damage and Field would have received a fine, defence barrister Shane McAulty told the court.
But it happened on Picton Rd and resulted in the death of Gwynneville woman Kaiyan Su.
The court heard 41-year-old Field was driving east along the road when he pulled into the breakdown lane, intending to turn right into a dirt track on the opposite side of the road.
Field, unable to see a Mazda 3 sedan that was travelling east in the right-hand lane, started to make the turn in his ute.
It immediately collided with the front-passenger side of the sedan, causing it to spin around and come to rest in the west-bound lanes. Ms Su, who was in the back seat of the car, suffered massive internal bleeding and severe injuries to her liver, right kidney and spine as a result of the accident.
She was initially taken to Wollongong Hospital, then later transferred to St George Hospital, where she died from multiple organ failure and sepsis, on February 2.
Field, who had also suffered serious shoulder injuries in the crash, was subsequently charged with negligent driving occasioning death.
Yesterday, the court heard those shoulder injuries were a constant reminder to Field of the tragic accident that occurred.
Mr McAulty said it was the harsh reality of a ‘‘momentary misjudgment, an error that we [all] make from time to time’’.
The court heard the Niagara Park man had a relatively good driving record for someone who drives almost 70,000km annually, with only the occasional minor infringement recorded in recent years.
In sentencing Field, Mr Degan acknowledged the accident occurred on a notoriously dangerous stretch of road. ‘‘Certainly Picton Rd has a reputation for being the site of a number of fatalities in recent times,’’ he said. However, Mr Degan did not suggest the road was to blame in this case.
Outside the court, Mr McAulty described Picton Rd as an ‘‘infamous black spot’’ and that, although no-one was blaming the road, he did consider it to be dangerous.
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