A trainee priest was not to blame for crashing into a PhD graduate crossing a suburban street with earphones in his ears, a court has found.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The graduate, Jae Myoung Kim, caught the bus home from work, getting off at La Perouse Street in Red Hill just after 6.30 one night in September 2010.
He got off the bus, and went to cross the road to walk towards his home on Beagle Street.
He was wearing dark clothes, and the court found he had earphones in his ears, although it was unclear whether music was playing.
As he crossed, a church-owned car driven by Weliwattage Don Isuru Weliwatte, a trainee priest with the Missionaries of God, hit him.
The priest heard the impact and braked hard. He got out, saw the pedestrian on the ground, and flagged down traffic to call emergency services.
Mr Kim was injured and hospitalised, and later sued for damages.
The case came before the ACT Supreme Court and acting Justice Linda Ashford delivered her judgment late last month.
Mr Weliwatte was driving at the speed limit, had low beams on, and said he knew the area well.
He had been chatting with his passenger, also a trainee priest, but had been concentrating on the road.
The court found that Mr Kim, still having his earphones in, did not hear the approaching car.
"I am therefore satisfied that the plaintiff was not paying proper attention to his surroundings," Acting Justice Ashford found.
It also found he had not walked up to a nearby traffic island to cross the road, which he claimed was his usual practice.
There were suggestions that the priest should have had his high beams on, but that was rejected by the court.
"I am satisfied there was nothing the defendant could have done to avoid the collision, even if he had seen the plaintiff before impact," Justice Ashford wrote.
"If his lights had been on high beam, I do not believe he could have seen the plaintiff in time."
Acting Justice Ashford found the trainee priest not to be liable, and ordered the plaintiff pay indemnity costs.