Dubbo mechanic fined $500,000 after teen apprentice crushed and killed by truck
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Mechanic who left teen student work alone on a truck before it fell and crushed him is fined $500,000 as his family reveals their grief in heartbreaking statements
- Mechanic fined $500,000 after intern crushed and killed by truck at garage
- Darby Paxton was in his first year as an apprentice at KML Auto Electrics
- He was left alone to work on a truck when it fell and crushed him
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A mechanic has been fined $500,000 after his teenage student was crushed while working on a truck alone.
KML Auto Electrics, which operates in Dubbo in regional NSW, was ordered to pay the hefty fine nearly three years after Darby Paxton, 18, was murdered.
But the garage’s early admission of guilt reduced the fine by 25 percent to $375,000.
The mechanic will also have to pay the District Attorney’s fees of $32,600, making him pay a total of $407,600.
Darby had just started his first year as an apprentice auto electrician at the garage and had only 18 days of experience when the horrific incident took place in January 2020.
He previously had two weeks of work experience with KML Auto Electric’s Kurt Michael Lew in his senior year of high school.
Mechanic was fined $500,000 after his teenage student was crushed while working on a truck alone
Darby and mechanic Mr Lew performed electrical repair work on a 2021 Izuzu tilt cab truck.
The court ruled that Mr. Lew had lifted the truck properly, but had not manually installed the locking pin that would have held the cab in an elevated position.
The truck was raised on the cab tilt support system, but the court found that the locking pin had not been pushed into the support arm to prevent it from collapsing.
Mr Lew and Darby were working on the truck when the mechanic was called to fix a truck that had broken down 40 minutes away from the garage.
Mr. Lew told Darby to bolt the lights on the trailer before setting off to deal with the alarm.
Darby was working under the truck’s elevated cab when he accidentally touched the lever, causing the vehicle to fall on top of him, crushing him underneath.
Mr Lew discovered that Darby was under the truck when he returned to the garage and called for help when an employee of a nearby company came by.
The pair managed to get Darby out from under the truck and called 911.
Ambulance personnel were unable to resuscitate him at the scene.
Lew discovered the body trapped under the truck when he returned to the garage and called for help when an employee of a nearby company stopped by
KML Auto Electrics has been brought to court in NSW by SafeWork NSW and convicted on Friday.
Court documents revealed that the young student’s death had taken a heavy emotional toll on his family.
“The grief Darby’s family must endure is infinite, unrepentant and devastating,” Judge Wendy Strathdee said in her verdict.
“The family can’t get together to celebrate a milestone right now because Darby’s absence is making it unbearable. Their grief is oppressive.’
His mother Karen Paxton is unable to continue working as a nurse due to the trauma.
His father is “tortured” by not being with his son when he died.
His younger sister also described her ongoing grief in her victim statement.
“I have been and will forever be traumatized by the fact that my brother was taken from me,” she said.
Judge Strathdee expressed her condolences to the family in court.
“Having had the honor of hearing statements from Darby’s family, it is clear that Darby was loved, adored and integral to his family,” she said.
“It was impossible for those who heard the statements to remain unmoved. The grief they feel is acute and their devastation seems endless. I extend my deepest condolences to Darby’s father, mother and sister, and hope that at some point they will find some relief from their suffering.’
KML Auto Electrics, which operates in Dubbo in regional NSW, has been ordered to pay the amount following the death of Darby Paxton (pictured)