Victorian man found not guilty after fatal crash at 2023 burnout event
An 18-year-old spectator died after being hit by a car at the annual burnout and drift car competition. (ABC News)
In short:
A Victorian man has been found not guilty by a jury over a fatal crash at a burnout event in western Victoria in 2023.
Bryce Driden was competing in the LOO5ENATS event in Stawell when Trent DeZoete was struck after Mr Driden's vehicle experienced a "spontaneous mechanical issue".
The County Court jury found Mr Driden not guilty of one count of culpable driving causing death and one count of dangerous driving causing death.
A Victorian man has been found not guilty in relation to a fatal crash at a burnout event in Stawell, in western Victoria, in 2023.
In the County Court this afternoon, a jury found Bryce Driden, 29, of Wendouree in Ballarat, not guilty of one count of culpable driving causing death and one count of dangerous driving causing death.
Trent DeZoete, 18, of Pimpinio, was a spectator at the LOO5ENATS event at Stawell Motor Sports Club on November 4, 2023, when he was struck by the car Mr Driden was driving in the event.
The court heard Mr DeZoete was walking from the grandstand to the food truck area with his friend just after 4pm when he was hit and killed.
During the trial, lawyers for the prosecution said that instead of staying within the arena, Mr Driden drove out into the public area where there were spectators.
The prosecution alleged that although it was a "spontaneous mechanical issue" during the competition, Mr Driden made the "unjustifiable decision" to drive away from the skid pad where there were "available precautions and safe confines in the arena".
The prosecution alleged that Mr Driden had methamphetamine in his system, which made him "overconfident" and compromised his decision-making.
Lawyers for the defence told the court the crash did not mean Mr Driden had committed a serious criminal offence and that "sometimes tragic accidents occur, sometimes they're no-one's fault".
"The issue in this trial is whether it was grossly negligent … the law doesn't expect someone to drive perfectly … drivers make split-second decisions," the defence team told the court.
"We're human beings; we're not perfect … terrible accidents happen."
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