Sometimes nobody wins.

Mr Dajko was drinking on the night of 24 July 2016.  When he got in his car early the next morning he was tired and still had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08.  A kangaroo hooped onto the road in front of him near Tatura, Australia.  He swerved to avoid it, lost control of his car and collided with a light truck, fatally injuring the driver.

The defendant was charged with exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol and with careless driving.  His ‘carelessness’ took the form of intoxication, fatigue and sudden swerving.  The Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic.) §65(1) provides that

A person who drives a motor vehicle on a highway carelessly is guilty of an offence and liable for a first offence to a penalty of not more than 12 penalty units and for a subsequent offence to a penalty of not more than 25 penalty units.

The defendant pleased guilty in Shepparton Magistrates Court.  Stuthridge M accepted that “this was an accident in the sense the kangaroo was involved and [the defendant] lost control of his vehicle”.  She also accepted that he was deeply troubled by the accident. Her Honour fined the defendant $1,000.00 and suspended his drivers licence for 16 months.

Police v Dajko (2017) Shepparton News, 29 August 2017, p.1.