On July 13 last year Richard John Green of River Road, Sussex Inlet was driving south on the Princes Highway at Mondayong.
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It was the very same stretch of road where some six months later Craig Anthony Whitall would cross the centre-line and slam head-on into a car carrying the Falkholt family.
All five people died as a result of the inferno that followed.
As the clock neared 2pm 61-year-old Green approached the overtaking lane before the Bendalong Road turnoff.
As the lane-end approached Green, who has now been convicted of 25 speeding offences, pulled into the overtaking lane, put his foot down and pushed the needle to 144 kilometres per hour.
A highway patrol vehicle saw the incident, turned on its siren and pulled over Green in his silver Holden Commodore station wagon.
“I was just trying to get around those cars before it merged back into one [lane],” he told the officer.
However, his poor excuse did not fly with the officer and Green pleaded guilty when he appeared before Magistrate Gabriel Fleming in Milton Local Court on March 8.
“Your traffic record,” Magistrate Fleming started.
“It's not good,” Green interjected.
“No. In the classic Australian understatement I would say no, it’s not good. On no road in Australia would speeding at 144km/h be called ‘good’,” she said.
“I was just overtaking another car, your worship,” he said.
“What’s the speed limit?” Magistrate Fleming questioned.
“One hundred,” Green said.
“So, why were you overtaking at 144?” she asked
“It's definitely too fast,” he replied.
“Yes, it's 44 kilometres an hour too fast. It's appalling. For all you know that officer who pulled you over may have had to come across [your crash]. I don't want you name coming across my desk as a coroner’s report, nor does the officer who was following you want to scrape you off the road,” Magistrate Fleming blasted.
Green’s lawyer Brett Ford said his client had accepted his licence would be suspended.
“But what I ask is that you suspend the sentence for one hour to allow him to get home,” Mr Ford said.
“He is a community minded person, he is involved in the council on the area’s tourism board, helping to promote the local area.”
Despite the man’s record for not obeying road rules, Magistrate Fleming relented and fined Green $884 and disqualified him from driving for three months from noon of that day.