FIVE years since Eliza Wannan and Will Dalton-Brown died, a retired judge has been appointed to oversee an independent investigation into NSW road legislation pertaining to the case.
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The 19-year-olds died after a 17-year-old L-plate driver drove over their swag as they slept, after an Australia Day party at a property on Belgravia Road, near Orange.
Police did not charge the driver, after deciding the tragedy occurred on private property and the deaths were not subject to NSW road laws.
The Honourable William Windeyer is expected to deliver his findings into the road legislation review in the first quarter of this year.
In a joint statement, Minister for Roads Minister Duncan Gay and Attorney-General Brad Hazzard said they would consider the review’s recommendations.
“The NSW Government recognises the importance of this issue and Mr Windeyer will be speaking with the families as part of this review,” the statement said.
The announcement comes more than a year after former police minister Mike Gallacher referred the police handling of the case to the NSW Ombudsman, the Police Integrity Commission and the NSW Police Professional Standards Unit.
An independent review was ordered following complaints from the families of the young people and a program focusing on the police investigation into the deaths, which screened on the ABC Four Corners program.
A spokesman for NSW Police Minister Stuart Ayres said the minister would not comment during the inquiry into the police investigation.
On the same day her son Will would have celebrated his 24th birthday, Lee Dalton said she felt a great sense of frustration that many of the family’s questions surrounding the police investigation had not been answered, and no findings of a police review had been relayed to the families.
An alcometer that was used at the scene of the tragedy to breath test the L-plate driver returned a zero reading, but was later found to be faulty and had to be repaired.
However, blood and urine samples taken from the driver at Orange hospital returned a positive reading, indicating he had been drinking prior to running over the young couple, corroborating witness statements.
“I still can’t believe after this time that parents have lost a son and a daughter and there have been no consequences,” Ms Dalton said.
Ms Wannan’s parents were unavailable for comment.
janice.harris@fairfaxmedia.com.au
