A Canberra father has been "almost totally consumed" by guilt after causing the death of his daughter in a car crash nearly three years ago, his lawyers told a court on Monday. The crash was, his lawyers said, the result of a "split-second failing".
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Christopher James Ward, 74, failed to check the coast was clear when he turned right into Chewings Street from Southern Cross Drive and into the path of another driver in July 2015.
His daughter Acacia, 7, was killed in the crash, the court heard, though Ward had attempted to resusicate her until authorities arrived on the scene in Florey.
Ward was charged with negligent driving causing death to which he initially pleaded not guilty. After a protracted litigation, last year the 74-year-old changed his plea to guilty.
Ward appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday for a sentencing hearing over the charge. He sat at the bar table and cried as his lawyers made submissions on his behalf.
Ward's lawyer Louise Taylor told the court he was "almost totally consumed" with guilt over the death of Acacia, who was "absolutely the apple of his eye". He had come to accept the presence of grief, loss and guilt in his life, she said, and the least he could do now was sit with that loss.
Ms Taylor told the court there had been road signs on the median strip that had temporarily blocked Ward's view as he pulled into the intersection.
But she said Ward fully accepted that even if his view was obstructed by the signs, there was time to check for oncoming traffic and he did not. He simply determined it was safe to cross, the lawyer said, while distinguishing his negligence from someone who had seen the oncoming car and "took a punt".
Ms Taylor called Ward's negligence a "split second failing", "the sort of failing made by drivers on our roads all the time".
It was the kind of failing, she said, that if a collision was avoided would leave a driver feeling relieved that "Lady Luck had shined on them".
But prosecutor Mark Fernandez said Ward's negligence was objectively serious, and he pointed to the loss of Acacia's life.
He said the magistrate should not approach the case on the basis it could happen to anyone.
He said an ordinary driver would have slowed down to take a proper look. "That didn't happen," he said.
Ward has a criminal history across Canberra and NSW that included speeding and negligent driving, though the court heard the charges were old.
The prosecutor told the court general deterrance was important in sentencing the father, and not something that could be "brushed aside" by a suggestion the crash was the result of bad luck.
Magistrate Karen Fryar will sentence Ward on May 22.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Ward was originally charged with culpable driving causing death.
