A SOLICITOR representing the family of one of two teenagers killed after being run over on a camping trip has produced a photo that he says shows the driver with a beer in his hand the night before the accident.
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The inquest into the death of the pair has also heard how friends of the victims struggled to free them from under a ute and perform CPR.
The statements were heard during the second day of an inquest into the deaths of 19-year-olds Eliza Wannan and Will Dalton-Brown, who died after being run over by a black Ford ute in January last year.
The teenagers were asleep in swags in a paddock when the accident happened.
They were run over by Rhys Colefax, the son of former Orange highway patrol officer Brett Colefax, while camping 20 kilometres from Orange on a property called Ridgeview.
“You will hear Your Honour that photo was taken on the night by a person on the witness list,” said Adam Johnstone, a solicitor acting for the family of Will Dalton-Brown.
Mr Johnstone said the photo was taken from Facebook and showed police hadn’t asked the appropriate questions.
“The matter was within the knowledge of police and not followed up,” he said.
“This is yet another example of that sloppy work.”
It was also revealed Ms Wannan and Mr Dalton-Brown may have spent a significant time trapped beneath the vehicle, although it remains unclear exactly how long. Melissa Parker, a paramedic who treated the pair, testified how she was told a ute had run over the two patients, but that she was not in a position to know who gave her that information.
“I think it was only when I was at the hospital I was told that the ute was on the patients for almost 20 minutes,” she said.
She recounted how she was told the driver had thought he was on top of a log but “freaked out” when he realised he had run over Ms Wannan and Mr Dalton-Brown. She said both were in cardiac arrest by the time paramedics arrived.
Crime scene investigator Christopher Clarke was questioned about a photo he had taken showing two 17-metre wheel marks in the grass.
“Would you agree the divots you observed are consistent with wheels that had been spinning for a time,” Mr Johnstone said.
“Yes,” he replied.
The inquest also heard from young people who were there.
A number had difficulty recalling the length of time between when the ute began reversing and when they heard screaming.
Rodd MacKenzie was a young person who went to the property after finishing work at 4.45am.
He told the court it was obvious people had been drinking when he arrived but said the black ute had not been travelling at an excessive speed when he saw it reversing. He then turned away.
“It was pretty slow really,” he said. “Probably a fast walk.”
Emily Areyard was another young person who was sleeping close to the accident and was a friend of Rhys Colefax.
“Did you see him drinking?” said council assisting the coroner, Warrick Hunt.
“Not that I can recall,” she said.
She testified of an approximate ten minute gap between when she heard the engine of the ute revving like it was bogged and Mr Colefax screaming.