A South Australian driver has admitted he was driving dangerously when he struck and killed a Riverland couple in a head-on crash more than four years ago.
Mark Norman Hueppauff, 74, was due to stand trial in the District Court tomorrow on two counts of driving dangerously and causing death.
But today, he changed his plea to guilty.
He killed 78-year-old Trish McAuliffe and her 76-year-old husband Michael McAuliffe in the crash on the Sturt Highway at Wigley Flat — between Waikerie and Kingston-On-Murray, in September 2018.
Ms McAuliffe, a retired TV make-up artist and former Renmark deputy mayor, died at the scene, while Mr McAuliffe, a former TV editor, died a month later in hospital.
The court was told the Director of Public Prosecutions did not accept that an "arm procedure" that Hueppauff underwent prior to the crash contributed to his inability to drive.
Lawyers for Hueppauff said they may need to call medical experts and their client to give evidence about the disputed fact.
Hueppauff will be back before the court in February for a disputed facts hearing and victim impact statements.
Outside court, Ms McAuliffe's sister, Julie Marshall, said she was relieved Hueppauff had "finally" made a plea
"It's gone on for four-and-a-half years and it's been a terrible time for all of the family," she said.
She said Hueppauff did not appear to show any remorse over the crash and had been driving ever since it occured.
"I don't like the fact that he has still been driving all this time and the law doesn't allow for them to have their licence taken away from them immediately … in my opinion he shouldn't have been driving," she said outside court.
