In court: A man has been released on bail following a fatal collision which led to the deaths of five people at Strathmerton.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
A man has been released on bail following a fatal collision which led to the deaths of five people at Strathmerton.
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Christopher Dillon Joannidis, 29, of the Melbourne suburb of Doncaster, successfully applied for bail in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Friday, April 21.
He is charged with five counts of dangerous driving causing death in the accident, just minutes after he was released by police after being caught speeding.
He has not entered pleas to any of the charges.
In a preliminary brief read by magistrate Simon Zebrowski, police allege Mr Joannidis was driving his Mercedes north on Labuan Rd when he failed to stop at a give way sign.
In the document, police allege he “did not appear to slow before the intersection” with the Murray Valley Hwy.
Mr Joannidis’ vehicle struck the rear passenger side of a Nissan Navara ute causing it to rotate out of control onto the incorrect side of the road and into the path of a B-double milk tanker travelling in the opposite direction.
In court: A man has been released on bail following a fatal collision which led to the deaths of five people at Strathmerton.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
The collision was described by police as “catastrophic”, with the truck continuing east before coming to rest on the side of the road having partially dragged the ute, the court heard.
The five occupants of the Navara, as well as a dog, all died in the crash.
The driver was a 60-year-old woman who is believed to be from the region.
The other four are believed to be from overseas and aged between 23 and 30 years, court documents said.
Some had just been collected after their shift at a nearby abattoir.
The truck driver, a 55-year-old man from Marionvale, was taken to hospital and later released, before returning to hospital in the early hours of Friday morning with migraines.
Mr Joannidis and his girlfriend, 20, were taken to Goulburn Valley Health, with Mr Joannidis released in the early hours of Friday.
The prosecution court documents show Mr Joannidis had been pulled over by police driving at 118km/h in a 100km/h zone at 1.43pm in Labuan Rd.
The milk truck which was involved in the crash.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
A preliminary oral fluid drug test done by police on Mr Joannidis returned a positive result for cannabis, however when he supplied an oral sample of his fluid for testing, it did not show a positive result, the prosecution brief said.
Further testing will now be done by police.
Mr Joannidis was fined for speeding when he was pulled over by police, and left there only three minutes before the fatal crash occurred.
The court heard Mr Joannidis was visibly upset when he was interviewed by police on Friday, and gave mainly a “no comment” interview.
The court also heard Mr Joannidis did not have any prior convictions, had stable accommodation and had support of his family — with his brother present in court for the short bail application.
At the time of the crash he was travelling from Melbourne to a friend’s wedding in NSW.
Prosecutor Samantha Owen urged the magistrate to implement a surety to ensure Mr Joannides returned to court, but this was rejected by the magistrate.
Bail was granted with the conditions including Mr Joannidis not drive, surrender his passport, live in Doncaster, not leave Victoria or Australia, and not use any drugs.
Mr Joannidis will face the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court again on September 19 for a committal mention.
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