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Sport
PLASTIC FREE FUN CLEAN Up Wangaratta’s (from left) Judy Lowen, Julie Sands, Linda White, Rae Quigley and Andy Kimber are taking part in the global awareness month Plastic Free July across the rural city this month. Full story page 2. PHOTO: Kurt Hickling
SUCH A TRAGEDY Wangaratta man remorseful, W f l pleads l d guilty il to d deaths h off b brother, h cousin i iin hi high h speed d crash h
A WANGARATTA man has pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of his brother and cousin while driving at excessive speeds under the influence on Greta Road in Wangaratta last year. The 25-year-old appeared at Melbourne County Court on Friday to formally plead guilty to two counts of cul-
pable driving causing death stemming from the April 9, 2023 crash. The court heard the defendant was driving at a speed in excess of 170kph when he lost control on a bend and his vehicle rolled and hit a tree, immediately taking the life of his 26-yearold cousin, with his 16-year-
old brother suffering injuries he died from six days later. Another 24-year-old cousin was also in the vehicle and sustained non-life threatening injuries. The defendant also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence at the time of the incident, giving a blood alcohol reading of 0.079 within
three hours after the crash. The court heard multiple impact statements from the defendant’s cousin’s family, who were visiting them in Wangaratta over the Easter weekend. The brother of the 26-yearold victim said he wasn’t just a brother to him, but a best friend and a father figure, and
while he may have physically recovered from the crash, his mental scars may never heal. “Only dealing with his passing is realising what we truly had,” he said. “I can only pray you (defendant) are remorseful for your actions and what you’ve taken away from not only my family, but yours.
“It is through my Christian spirit that I forgive you because that’s what Jesus would do.” The sister of the deceased 26-year-old was the first person to arrive at the scene of the crash, and said she remembered staring at the horrific scene for hours. ■ Continued page 2
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