A Sydney bus company operator charged with involuntary manslaughter after one of his vehicles plunged into a ravine on Barrengarry Mountain in 2010 is seeking to blame the fatal crash on his dead father.
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Graham Lees was driving 29 passengers from Parramatta to a retreat in Kangaroo Valley on the evening of May 14, 2010 when the brakes on his 53-seat Austral Skyliner failed, causing the vehicle to crash through a guard rail on a hairpin bend and career down a six metre embankment.
Mr Lees died instantly after he was thrown from the vehicle. Several other passengers were injured, one critically.
A seven-year investigation resulted in police laying manslaughter and grievous bodily harm charges against Graham Lees' son, Simon Lees, 33, who was the company's operations manager at the time and allegedly responsible for maintaining its fleet of vehicles.
The Crown will allege Simon Lees had repeatedly been told about the bus' defective brakes but failed to get them fixed, breaching his duty of care.
Narellan mechanic and licensed heavy vehicle certifier Stuart Lewry, 43, was charged with the same set of offences amid allegations he gave the bus a pink slip nine days earlier without inspecting the vehicle. It is alleged he simply signed off on its road worthiness after Simon Lees assured him the brake problems had been fixed.
Both men pleaded not guilty on Monday at the start of their expected four-week trial in Wollongong District Court.
Lawyers for Simon Lees told the court that the maintenance of the buses was the legal responsibility of the company's accredited operator and sole shareholder, Graham Lees.
"Graham Lees, we say, had the knowledge, responsibility and a legal duty in relation to the condition of the bus," defence lawyer Greg Heathcote said, adding decisions about major repairs on all the company's fleet of vehicles were made by the older Mr Lees.
However, Crown prosecutor Michael Fox said it would be argued that Graham Lees had moved to the Central Coast and was no longer involved in the day to day running of the Bringelly-based business, leaving his son in charge.
"The Crown case is Simon Lees breached his duty of care by permitting the bus to be used while fully aware of the brake issues," he said.
First on the scene
One of the first drivers on the scene of a fatal bus crash on Barrengarry Mountain nine years ago has described seeing "smoke and fumes" coming out of the vehicle as he made his way towards the wreckage.
Nathaniel Simpson told Wollongong District Court he smelled "burning brakes", saw large gouge marks in the roadway and noticed a 12ft piece of guard rail was missing as he rounded a hairpin bend on the evening of May 14, 2010.
He turned back to discover the bus "20-30ft down the embankment" with its engine still running.
"There were people scrambling around in the shadows, some trying to come up the embankment," he said.
Mr Simpson climbed into the bus and turned the engine off before asking passengers the whereabouts of the driver, Graham Lees.
"I found him rolled up in a ball on the right side of the bus, about a third of the way down...he was dead," Mr Simpson said.
The trial continues.
Read more court news here