A forensic expert tasked with analysing the scene of the horrific honeymoon golf cart crash that killed a young bride believes the fact that the newlyweds were not wearing seat belts was a key factor in the accident.
Detective Sergeant Gemma Williamson was at large but was called to assist when Marina Hanna, 29, died on Hamilton Island, north Queensland, on June 20, 2022, when the buggy driven by her husband Robbie Awad, 32, flipped onto its side.
Ms Williamson, who has been with the police for 14 years and is trained in accident investigation, was then tasked with investigating the crime scene.
During Awad’s hearing at Proserpine Magistrates Court on Thursday, where he is fighting a charge of driving without reason and without due care, police prosecutor Sergeant Linden Pollard asked Ms Williamson for her expert opinion on the cause of the crash.
Ms Williamson said there were ‘a number of factors’ including the terrain, the way the buggy made a U-turn and the uneven weight distribution in the vehicle due to the lack of seat belts.
‘[I think it was caused by] “The fact that the buggy had turned the wrong way caused it to end up on Whitsunday Boulevard,” she told the court.
If there are no seat belts [being worn]’There would have been a weight shift, placing more weight on the passenger side, which could have caused the vehicle to roll over.’
The prosecution alleged that Awad drove carelessly by making an illegal, sharp U-turn to maneuver the golf cart back in the opposite direction, causing it to land on its side instead of turning left into an adjacent street and then returning to the intersection.
Robbie Awad is pictured with his wife Marina Hanna on their wedding day
The prosecution alleges that Awad drove carelessly by making an illegal, sharp U-turn to maneuver the golf cart back in the opposite direction, causing it to end up on its side instead of turning left into an adjacent street.
However, Awad’s lawyer Phillip Boulten SC told the court that the vehicle was suffering from electrical faults because the battery was flat and his client therefore drove in the ‘most cautious manner’ he could in the circumstances.
Mr Boulten further claims that Awad was not given proper instructions on the safety features of the buggy, which was left-hand drive, and that resort staff also did not tell him what to do if the battery failed.
Mr Boulten asked Ms Williamson if any tests had been carried out to determine whether the gradient of the road and the shift in body weight would still have caused an accident if the U-turn had been made in the alternative, legal manner. She replied: ‘No.’
Mrs Williamson: ‘No, we don’t put people in a buggy to test it.’
Mr Boulten: ‘But you could have used weights, couldn’t you?’
Ms Williamson: ‘I know from experience that at some point people trade on momentum.’
The court heard from an earlier police witness, Aaron Farrell, who was deputy manager at the Qualia Resort and gave the couple a safety briefing on how to use the golf cart.
Mr Farrell stated that he had instructed Awad on how to use the vehicle, that Queensland Road Traffic Regulations applied to its use and that further instructions about the buggy were on the handlebars.
However, Mr Farrell admitted that he had not given Awad any information about charging the buggy, as that was the job of another member of staff. It was also not common practice to provide drivers with an owner’s manual.
Mr Boulten turned to Mrs Williamson and noted that the instructions in the buggy advised: ‘Read the owner’s manual and safety warnings before using the vehicle.’
“With that assumption, have you checked to see if my client or a guest at Qualia received a copy of the vehicle safety warnings?” he asked.
Robbie Awad (center) arrives at court with an entourage of supporters, including celebrity attorney Bryan Wrench. Awad had a rosary around his neck
“No, I didn’t,” she replied.
Mr Boulten: Do you know how fast this cart was going when it started to turn?
Mrs. Williamson: ‘No.’
Mr Boulten asked Ms Williamson whether she accepted Awad’s claims made shortly after the accident, when he told officers he was driving slowly.
Mrs Williamson: ‘That’s what he said [he was doing]…Vehicles are limited to 20 km/h, which feels slow.’
Mr Boulten: ‘But he said the vehicle was travelling at 3 km/h.’
Ms Williamson: ‘A vehicle travelling at 1 to 2 km/h will not overturn.’
Seven golf cart stands detected
Ronald John Martin, owner of Mackay Electrical Vehicles, was called by police to assist in retrieving data from the golf cart, which he had uploaded to an SD card on July 22, 2023.
According to the data, the golf cart exhibited seven diagnostic errors, including low battery voltage, low state of charge, high pedal detection, and a stall error.
Mr Martin explained that low battery voltage and low state of charge are similar (both mean the battery is flat), while detecting a high pedal level is a ‘common’ and insignificant problem that occurs when someone switches too quickly between reversing and accelerating.
He could not explain the meaning of the fourth error and noted that he could not download the date of the problems, so it is unclear when the problems started.
The remaining three errors were missing from the screenshots of the report submitted as evidence.
The hearing was adjourned to allow Mr Martin time to retrieve the data from the device he had brought to court, but the file was corrupted and inaccessible.
Mr Boulten asked Mr Martin how a flat battery would affect the performance of the buggy.
“As the battery drains, the car’s performance decreases,” he said.
‘Normally, the car battery simply drains more slowly.’
Golf carts are widely used by Hamilton Island guests to explore the island
Second expert opinion
The court also heard from Sergeant Michael Hollett, of the Mackay Forensic Crash Unit, who worked with Ms Williamson on the case and created a forensic map of the crime scene.
When asked by Mr Pollard what he thought caused the crash after speaking to colleagues and assessing the crash site, Mr Hollett said: ‘the way the U-turn was executed’.
“The U-turn was done in completely the wrong direction, in violation of traffic regulations,” he said.
‘The right way would have been to make a U-turn, uphill, up the slope.
‘If the buggy had made the correct U-turn, the crash probably would never have happened.’
Mr Boulten again argued that the police had not carried out any tests to determine whether or not that was the case.
Mr Boulten: ‘You have not calculated what the impact of the economic crisis would be on the vehicle?’
Mr. Hollett: ‘No.’
Mr Boulten: ‘You say it probably wouldn’t have fallen over, but you don’t know for sure, do you?’
Mr. Hollett: ‘No.’
‘A matter of seconds’
The court was shown bodycam footage showing Awad speaking to police officers at the resort shortly after the accident.
Awad is distraught and hyperventilating. We see him sobbing with his head in his hands, telling the police that he was struggling to move the slow buggy when it suddenly went into gear.
“As we went up the hill, the buggy started to slow down. I would estimate it was slower than a walking pace. A very slow pace,” Awad told the court as he took the witness stand to give evidence.
‘When I got to the top of the hill, there was hardly anything moving.
‘[Once I got to the intersection] I saw that it was very steep and I couldn’t see around the bend. I looked straight ahead and saw that there were no cars, the buggy was moving a meter every two seconds, so I drove the buggy into the flattest part.’
“As I accelerated, I turned the steering wheel, but because the buggy was stationary, I made a complete turn. Then I heard ‘vrrrroom’ and the buggy accelerated very quickly,” he said.
“I started thinking, ‘Oh, the cart might tip over,’ but by the time I could finish the thought, the cart had already tipped over.”
Awad said he made the decision to make a U-turn at this point because it appeared to be the “flattest” part of the road and he was having difficulty getting the vehicle up the slope.
He said the accident happened within five to six seconds over a distance of three meters and he did not have a chance to brake.
However, Sergeant Pollard stated that the vehicle was not so damaged as to warrant a traffic law violation.
“I’m telling you, with the vehicle still moving, you could have made the right U-turn. What do you say to that?” Mr. Pollard said.
Awad replied: ‘Given the situation, where the buggy was barely moving and I wanted to take it back, I decided to make a U-turn on the flattest part, which I thought was the safest, to get back there.’
Awad has pleaded guilty to not wearing a seat belt and using a mobile phone.
The hearing will continue on Friday.