Truck driver Timothy Lee Wilson, who crashed into a parked ambulance and killed two people, has been sentenced to four–and-half years in prison, reports ABC News.
Nurse Ray Wyeth and his patient Martyn House died when Wilson’s truck crashed into the back of an ambulance stopped at roadworks near Stanwell in October 2021.
In handing down the sentence in the District Court in Rockhampton on Monday, Justice Martin Burns said Wilson’s prolonged inattention to the traffic conditions had “irrevocably altered the life of the families of those who have died”.
“Many people use our roadways every day, they are entitled to presume others will exercise proper precautions,” he said.
Prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence also told the court that Wilson’s inattentive driving was shown by his failure to reduce his speed, despite an 80km/h sign, 60km/h sign and a prepare-to-stop sign.
Last year, a judge declared a mistrial in the case after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict on a charge of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death.
On the first day of his retrial in February this year, Wilson pleaded guilty.
He will be eligible for parole in January 2026.