It has been revealed a man who ran a red light on Canberra's Barton Highway, killing one person and seriously injuring another, told police he took his eyes off the road after an alarm went off in the cabin of his truck.
Jake Barrett, from the Queanbeyan suburb of Karabar, pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death and culpable driving causing grievous bodily harm in the ACT Supreme Court today.
Barrett had been driving a 22-tonne truck, carrying a 10-tonne excavator at the time of the crash in September 2021.
Court documents have revealed he told police it was his first day back at work after Canberra's Delta COVID-19 lockdown and he was not familiar with the truck.
It is believed his eyes may have been off the road for up to 11 seconds.
In discussions with police afterwards, Barrett gave a detailed account of how the events unfolded.
"Something on the dash beeped … like, a warning buzzer or something," he said.
"As I've come under the [Gungahlin Drive] bridge, an alarm has sounded in the truck.
"I've glanced down to do it.
"As I've glanced down the light must've turned orange and as I've looked back up, the cars have pulled out in front of me and I had nowhere to go."
Barrett said he hit a Ford Falcon, which was pushed into a Toyota Land Cruiser.
Alistair Urquhart was in the Ford Falcon when he had a green light and moved onto the highway before being hit by the truck.
He died at the scene from his catastrophic injuries.
A second man in the Land Cruiser suffered multiple injuries, including several broken bones, when Mr Urquhart's car was pushed into his.
Court documents reveal passers-by stopped to help the man, who survived his injuries, before medical help arrived.
The documents also showed that when police took Barrett away, he apologised.
"I just killed a guy," he said.
"I just want to make it better but I don't know how to make it better. A guy is dead because of me. I'm so sorry."
Barrett had been going to stand trial but will now be sentenced later this year.
