A man has been found not guilty of his new wife’s death, which occurred during their honeymoon in Queensland when she was killed in a golf buggy accident.
In Proserpine Magistrates Court, Robbie Awad was found not guilty today on the charge of driving without the necessary care and attention, resulting in death.
Earlier, the 32-year-old entered a guilty plea to charges of using a cell phone while driving.
In June 2022 on Hamilton Island, Awad and his wife Marina Hanna, 29, were travelling up a steep hill in a golf buggy when it began to slow down.
Hanna was crushed and killed as the buggy toppled over.
When the tragic collision happened, the newlyweds from Sydney had barely been together for ten days.
Awad’s defence team claimed the buggy’s battery was defective and that when it became apparent the buggy couldn’t go any farther up the slope, he made the safest U-turn he could.
He insisted that he had nothing to do with the disastrous outcomes because the cart suddenly accelerated before tipping over.
Because the U-turn was made unlawfully and on the wrong side of the road, the prosecution claimed Awad was to blame for his wife’s passing.
As a defence witness, traffic engineer Grant Johnston contested that conclusion, arguing that Awad behaved appropriately rather than carelessly given the circumstances.
Awad was overcome with emotion as he exited court after Magistrate Kerrie O’Callaghan delivered her ruling today.
