General News
15 February, 2020
Inquest into Ravenshoe tragedy wraps up
As the inquest into the June 2015 Ravenshoe tragedy continued last week, the wife of the deadly driver Mrs Scutt gave evidence, describing her husband’s stubborn attitude despite his ongoing medical issues.
As the inquest into the June 2015 Ravenshoe tragedy continued last week, the wife of the deadly driver Mrs Scutt gave evidence, describing her husband’s stubborn attitude despite his ongoing medical issues.
Two people died in a fiery blast and a further 19 people were injured after Mr Scutt drove his four-wheel-drive into a Ravenshoe café, causing two gas containers to explode.
Mrs Scutt told the inquest she spoke to her husband several times about giving up driving, just days before the crash.
"Three days before the accident I had a sit-down talk with him and said, 'Brian, I'm concerned you might kill somebody'," Ms Scutt said.
At the time Mr Scutt had been told he was mentally unfit to drive by his doctors. Something he chose to ignore and kept driving, even after suffering a fit just days before the crash.
It’s also believed that Mr Scutt had at least five major seizures in the decade before the explosion at the cafe and that he reported that he was unwell on the day of the accident.
The inquest which started in Atherton, continued in Cairns last week.
The Inquest is examining whether Mr Scutt was fit to hold a driver’s licence and whether it should be compulsory for medical practitioners to notify Queensland Transport if they believe a patient is unfit to drive.
Mr Scutt died before he could stand trial in August of last year.
The inquest wrapped up on Friday and the findings are expected to be delivered before the end of the year.
