The driver who crashed into patrons at a Daylesford pub killing five people has had his charges sensationally dismissed. William Swale successfully argued he did not have a case to answer, leaving the crash victims' family members devastated.
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00:00William Swale's driving had deadly consequences for five people, but today he walked free
00:07after a stunning legal victory.
00:09Mr Swale, if I can know, I'm being responsible for the deaths of five people.
00:13A magistrate today dismissed the charges against him, ruling the prosecution case was so weak
00:19there were no reasonable prospects of a jury ever finding him guilty.
00:23Whilst Mr Swale welcomes today's decision, he remains deeply distressed about the deaths
00:31and about the injuries that occurred on that day.
00:34It was last November that Mr Swale's out-of-control SUV flew off the road in Daylesford, hitting
00:39Pratibha Sharma, her daughter Anvi and Jatin Kumar, along with their friend Vivek Bhatia
00:46and his son Vahan.
00:47Six others were injured, the scene a state of utter carnage.
00:51Grieving family members in court to hear the decision were struggling to understand how
00:56no one will be held responsible.
00:58Today I am really so upset.
01:02I must say there is a zero justice system, zero, just zero.
01:07The court heard Mr Swale, a type 1 diabetic, was severely impaired with dangerously low
01:12blood sugar levels.
01:13Before the crash he was seen trying to enter a cafe, but was turned away.
01:18He then drove agonisingly slow on the streets of Daylesford in the minutes before the crash.
01:23Prosecutors argued he'd ignored critical warnings about his low glucose levels, but Magistrate
01:29Ghiyam Balan threw the case out, saying they'd failed to prove his decision to get behind
01:34the wheel was voluntary because his impairment from a hypoglycemic attack was so bad.
01:41This is a highly emotionally charged case, the magistrate said.
01:44The evidence is so weak that the prospects of conviction are minimal.
01:49William Swale hired one of Victoria's best barristers for the case, and it was a move
01:53that paid off.
01:54He was facing incredibly serious charges.
01:57One of them, culpable driving, carried a maximum sentence of 20 years.
02:01Now he's walking free.
02:04He has asked me again to express his deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the deceased.
02:13We are very, very upset.
02:16There is no value of five lives.
02:17Mr Swale left court, free to go home with his family.
02:21Others impacted by the tragedy won't be able to do the same.