Following a crash in northern Victoria earlier this year, a man was charged with five counts of hazardous driving resulting in death. He entered a not-guilty plea.
Christopher Dillon Joannidis, 29, is accused of failing to yield at the Labuan Road-Murray Valley Highway crossroads in Strathmerton on April 20 and slamming into a Nissan Navara pickup carrying five persons.
The five victims and a dog that was also in the vehicle perished instantly when the truck went out of control and slammed a B-double milk tanker.
It was the deadliest traffic accident in Victoria in over ten years. A month later, it was stated that there will be a coronial inquiry investigating how to make the crossroads safer.
Documents submitted to the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court in April revealed that Mr. Joannidis had been spoken with police only three minutes before to the collision after reportedly being stopped for speeding.
The court granted him bail with a number of restrictions, including turning over all of his travel documents and abstaining from using a motor vehicle.
On Tuesday, Mr. Joannidis was back in court and pled not guilty to the accusations of careless driving and two additional counts of endangering human life.
On October 17, the matter is scheduled for a readiness hearing in Melbourne County Court.
