Passengers in a speeding car begged the drunk driver to slow down moments before a fatal crash, a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The driver, Anthony Paton, 56, is on trial in the ACT Supreme Court for the crash that killed his son Andrew Paton, 29, in July 2009.
He has pleaded not guilty to culpable driving causing death and culpable driving causing grievous bodily harm.
The fact the defendant had an expired driver's licence, returned an alcohol reading of .281, and the car was unregistered are not in contest.
The Crown is arguing the smash was the product of Paton's intoxication and driving manner.
But the defence said the accident had been caused by a passenger activating the car's handbrake moments before the collision.
On Tuesday, jurors were shown footage, captured on an ACTION bus CCTV camera, of the green Holden Commodore drifting onto the verge of Gundaroo Drive before losing control and spinning into oncoming traffic.
The bus driver told the court he saw no brake lights or wheels locking on the car that would indicate the handbrake had been engaged.
But a crash expert, hired by the defence to investigate the handbrake premise, told the court there was evidence of some handbrake activity before the crash.
Allen Robert Joy said tyre marks on the road, a puff of smoke seen in the CCTV footage, and the behaviour of the vehicle as described by the bus driver indicated the handbrake might have been pulled on.
But he admitted under cross-examination that there was limited evidence to support the theory.
A passer-by, who stopped to provide aid to those involved in the accident, told the court she noticed empty beer cans and smelt alcohol as she approached the car.
She then comforted a rear passenger from the Commodore while waiting for emergency services to arrive.
The witness said the man was highly distressed and told her the four men in the car had been drinking and smoking cannabis in the lead-up to the collision.
She said the passenger blamed the defendant and revealed the group had begged him to slow down before the accident.
The court heard the man also said, ''He pulled on the handbrake to slow him down,'' but the witness could not remember the name of the person he had referred to.
The trial before Justice Hilary Penfold continues on Wednesday.