A 53-year-old Shepparton man pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to careless driving and failing to wear a seatbelt.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Anna Hanlon said the man crashed a 43-tonne Volvo prime mover into a tree on River Rd, Kialla while driving at 70km/h on June 5, 2024.
The crash happened after the man tried to take his jumper off over his head, which became stuck, leaving him unable to see for seven seconds.
He drove into a table drain and sideswiped a different tree before hitting the tree head-on.
The man told police it was a “bad decision” to try to remove his jumper while driving, but he had done it before, the court heard.
Leading Sen Constable Hanlon said the man was lucky the consequences weren’t more dire, considering he was driving a truck weighing an enormous amount on a major trucking route.
The man’s defence counsel said her client had been a truck driver for 30 years, and had since lost his job because of the accident.
She also told the court the man had significant health issues and had been having heart problems since 2019.
Magistrate Olivia Trumble said the incident would have been “pretty frightening”, and noted the high number of road accidents and deaths in the region.
“I don’t know what you were thinking,” she said.
The man was placed on an adjourned undertaking to be of good behaviour for 12 months.
As part of the undertaking, he must make a $200 donation to the Amber Community, a not-for-profit group that provides road incident support and education, and attend the Cool Heads road safety program.
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