A truck driver has had additional charges laid and his original charges updated after the death of a man who was critically injured in a crash at Cowan two weeks ago.
About 6.15am on Saturday 28 December 2024, emergency services were called to the northbound lanes of M1 at Cowan, about 2km south of the Morgans Road overpass, after reports of a crash involving a prime mover and a hatchback.
NSW Ambulance paramedics treated four people from the hatchback at the scene with an 82-year-old man travelling in the rear passenger seat suffering critical internal injuries, and two women, aged 78 and 50, suffering fractures. All four – who are from Carindale in Queensland – were taken to Royal North Shore Hospital for further treatment; the driver, a 53-year-old woman, was not seriously injured.
Officers attached to Kuring Gai Police Area Command established a crime scene with the Metropolitan Crash Investigation Unit commencing an investigation into the circumstances of crash.
The driver of the prime mover, a 44-year-old man from Box Hill, allegedly failed to stop after the crash and was later arrested at the Heavy Vehicle Inspection Station at Mount White.
He taken to Hornsby Police Station, where he was charged with three offences, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and two counts of fail to stop and assist after vehicle impact causing grievous bodily harm. He was granted conditional bail to appear in Hornsby Local Court on 30 January 2025 and his driver's licence was suspended.
After police were advised that the man travelling in the hatchback died in hospital on Wednesday 1 January 2025, a review of the charges was conducted.
As a result, the truck driver's charges have now been updated to negligent driving (occasioning death), fail to stop and assist after vehicle impact causing death, fail to stop and assist after vehicle impact causing grievous bodily harm, negligent driving (occasions grievous bodily harm), and fail to stop and assist after vehicle impact causing grievous bodily harm.
The man remains on bail to appear in Hornsby Local Court on Thursday 30 January 2025.
