P-plater who killed blind man and his guide dog jailed
A P-plater who caused the death of a man and his guide dog in 2019 has been sentenced to jail.
24-year-old Billy-Jo Salter was sentenced to three years and nine months’ jail after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death and destruction of evidence. Salter was 21-years-old when he caused the death of 62-year-old Raymond Meadows and his guide dog Gerry while he was driving on the Calder Highway at Wedderburn in northwestern Victoria on June 2, 2019.
The court heard that it was dark but Mr Meadows was wearing a high-vis vest and a backpack with flashing lights as he and his dog walked along the road’s shoulder, heading to the gym. Gerry died almost immediately after being hit by Salter’s car, while Mr Meadows died en route to the hospital. Salter stopped at the scene and was not found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Salter removed the memory card from his dashcam at the scene, and later had his friend destroy it. For several months following the crash, he told police that Mr Meadows and his dog had been walking on the road, but analysis of the scene proved they had been on the shoulder. Investigations also revealed that Salter had not applied the brakes or stirred the car in the five seconds before the crash, using cruise control to travel at 94km/h.
Judge Rosemary Carlin said Salter's actions were indicative of "a total abdication" of his responsibility as a driver. "To drive for five seconds at that speed in the dark without exerting any control at all over your car and without keeping a proper lookout for whatever reason is highly irresponsible and risky behaviour," she said.
The judge also said his lies about what had happened and destruction of the dashcam footage had deprived Mr Meadows’ family of closure. She described the destruction of the footage as “serious, planned offending” and said, "you have refused to tell the truth about what happened and you destroyed the only evidence.”
The court heard that Salter had suffered an abusive childhood, was experiencing health problems, and lived with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
He was sentenced to a non-parole period of two years and three months.
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