Company faces court over fatal Kialla West crash

By Grace Carter

Aug 8, 2024

A company and its director were in court after one of its employees died in a fatal crash. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

A company and its director were in court on WorkSafe charges after one of its employees died in a fatal road accident at Kialla West in 2022.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

A Melbourne company and its director appeared in a filing hearing in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court, and face seven charges each under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which relate to the incident in Kialla West on August 17, 2022.

A delivery van and a truck collided head-on at the intersection of Goulburn Valley Hwy and Moira Dve in Kialla West.

The delivery driver died at the scene, and the truck driver sustained serious injuries and was treated by paramedics.

Of the seven charges, one is of recklessly engaging in conduct that placed another person at a workplace in danger of serious injury.

It is alleged both the company and director failed to reduce the risk of slower reaction times, lapses in attention or falling asleep by ensuring the worker took adequate rest breaks and time out of the vehicle.

WorkSafe alleges the company failed to provide and maintain safe systems of work, failed to provide necessary information, instruction and training, and failed to provide necessary supervision in relation to fatigue management.

The company and director are due back in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court in October.