Daniel Andrews is fighting a court order to hand over phone records from the day his SUV collided with a teenage cyclist, leaving him seriously injured.
Ryan Meuleman was 15-years-old and riding his bike in Blairgowrie on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula when he was struck by the Andrews’ family SUV on January 7, 2013.
The former Victorian premier, who resigned last year, was given a Supreme Court subpoena outside his home in March requiring him to produce phone records.
Mr Andrews has now hired high-profile lawyer Leon Zwier to fight the order, the Herald Sun reported.
Mr Andrews called Triple Zero at 1.10pm on the day of the crash, while it’s estimated the collision happened at 1.06pm.
Of particular interest is who Mr Andrews called in the four minutes after the crash and whether that included his then chief-of-staff, Brett Curran, who is the current assistant commissioner of Victoria Police.
Daniel Andrews is fighting a court order to hand over phone records from the day his SUV collided with a teenage cyclist, leaving him seriously injured
Mr Meuleman’s father, Peter Meuleman, questioned why Mr Andrews was not complying with the court order.
‘He just received an Order of Australia and yet he’s doing this,’ he told the publication.
The matter will be heard in two weeks.
Mr Andrews’ wife Catherine had been driving at the time of the crash, with their three children in the back seat.
In a formal statement given to police, Mr Andrews said the cyclist was travelling at speed when he smashed into their front windshield as they turned right into a street.
‘I want to make it clear – the cyclist hit our vehicle,’ he said.
The then 15-year-old cyclist Ryan Meuleman suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs and lost 90 per cent of his spleen (pictured in hospital after the crash)
‘My wife stopped the car immediately and provided assistance and comfort to the cyclist.
‘I immediately proceeded a few metres away to the corner of Melbourne Road calling 000 and protecting against any car driving directly into the accident scene.’
Mr Meuleman is seeking damages from law firm Slater & Gordon, who he hired in the aftermath of the crash, for allegedly failing to conduct a ‘full and proper investigation into the circumstances’ of the incident.
The then-teenager suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, internal bleeding and lost 90 per cent of his spleen which required a stay in hospital for 11 days.
Mr Meuleman has claimed the Andrews’ car was travelling at speed and ‘came out of nowhere’ when he was struck.
The Andrews family had been driving their Ford Territory SUV to their holiday rental on the Mornington Peninsula (pictured, with the damage to the windscreen)
Police failed to breathalyse anyone at the scene.
Mrs Andrews said she was driving the SUV at the time of the accident but her husband then drove it from the scene to take their distraught children to the family’s nearby rental home.
The police summary of their investigation reveals they concluded the crash damage matched the Andrews’ account and said they would be taking no further action.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest any wrongdoing on the part of Mr Andrews or his wife.