Driver faces court over fatal crash at Yalca

Zividin Stojadinovic, 77, of the Melbourne suburb of Nunawading, pleaded guilty in Shepparton County Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Gordon and dangerous driving causing serious injury to the passenger in his own car.

In court, victim impact statements from Mr Gordon’s mother, father, three sisters, partner and grandmother were read aloud.

His mother, Kylie Gordon, told of how her world and heart shattered the day she learnt of her son’s death.

“I will never forget being told he’s gone,” she said.

“All I can do now is just look at photos and videos just to hear his voice.

“A mother should never have to bury their son.

“I always say to my kids, drive safe. Well, he did. It’s just that others didn’t.”

Mr Gordon, a Tongala resident, was remembered by his family members for being kind and selfless, cheeky, and proudly sporting a mullet.

The court heard Mr Gordon was driving a Hino truck east on the Murray Valley Hwy when Stojadinovic failed to stop his Kia Sorrento at a stop sign when approaching the highway from the north on Waaia-Bearii Rd.

Stojadinovic, who was 75 at the time, hit Mr Gordon’s truck, sending it crashing into trees on the side of the road.

Mr Gordon died in the crash, while Stojadinovic’s passenger was flown to hospital in Melbourne with life-threatening injuries, and Stojadinovic was taken to Goulburn Valley Health and later flown to a Melbourne hospital.

When interviewed by police, Stojadinovic told them he knew the intersection well, as his passenger, for whom he was a carer, lived not far away.

Stojadinovic had driven past two warning signs saying ‘reduce speed’ and ‘major highway ahead’ about 350m before the intersection, as well as a ‘stop sign ahead’ sign 230m from the intersection, and stop signs at the intersection.

The speed limit on Waaia-Bearii Rd was 100km/h, while on the Murray Valley Hwy it was a 100km/h zone that also had a 70km/h conditional speed limit sign that was activated from the side road.

The prosecutor and defence differed in opinions on whether the conditional speed limit sign would have been activated before Mr Gordon drove past it, as well as what speed Mr Gordon’s vehicle was doing at the time of the crash.

Defence crash expert Dr Shane Richardson labelled the intersection an “inherently dangerous” one, saying there had been two other crashes he knew of there, and suggested ways to slow down traffic, including incremental speed decreases or rumble strips approaching the intersection.

He said rural roads such as this one came with difficulties of seeing intersections when the road looked to just continue straight into the distance.

Defence barrister Hugo Moodie said his client’s moral culpability for the crash was at the “lower end of the scale” and it was the result of “momentary inattention”, and not speeding or alcohol.

He said one possibility could have been Stojadinovic having a “micro-sleep”.

He asked that Stojadinovic not be jailed because he said he had assisted police in their investigation by telling them he “may have had a micro-sleep” and was now seeing a sleep specialist, including starting using a CPAP machine.

He also said Stojadinovic did not have any prior convictions, and was of “advanced age”.

Prosecutor Andrew Grant, however, called for Stojadinovic to be jailed, saying it was a “serious example” of this type of offence.

He said it was not uncommon for people with “pristine records” to find themselves before a court after inattention that resulted in the death of a person.

Stojadinovic has continued on bail and will return to court at a later date to be sentenced.