Forensic expert reveals her theory on fatal honeymoon golf buggy crash

• Robbie Awad charged over his wife’s death
• He has pleaded not guilty to driving without due care and attention 

A forensic expert tasked with analysing the scene of the horrific honeymoon golf-buggy crash that claimed the life of a young bride believes the newlyweds’ failure to wear seatbelts was a crucial factor in the crash.

Senior Constable Gemma Williamson was off-duty but called in to assist when Marina Hanna, 29, died on Hamilton Island, in north Queensland, on June 20, 2022, when the buggy being driven by her husband Robbie Awad, 32, flipped on its side.

Ms Williamson, who has been a cop for 14 years and is trained in examining crashes, was then assigned with processing the scene.

At Awad’s hearing in Proserpine Magistrates Court on Thursday, where he is fighting a charge of driving without due cause and attention, police prosecutor Sergeant Linden Pollard asked Ms Williamson for her expert opinion on what caused the crash.

Ms Williamson said there were a ‘number of factors’ – including the terrain, how the buggy’s U-turn was performed, and the disproportion of weight in the vehicle due to the lack of seatbelts.

‘[I think it was caused by] the fact that the buggy was turned on the incorrect side, it was then turned in a manner to come out on Whitsunday Boulevard,’ she told the court.

‘If there are no seatbelts [being worn], there would have been a shift of weight, putting more weight on the passenger’s side, helping it to roll over.’

The prosecution argued that Awad drove without due care by performing an illegal, sharp, U-turn, to manoeuvre the golf-buggy back into the opposite direction, which flipped it on its side – instead of turning left into an adjoining street then looping back into the intersection.

However, Awad’s barrister Phillip Boulten SC told the court that the vehicle was struggling with electrical defaults as its battery ran out, leading his client to drive in the ‘most prudent way’ he thought to do so, given the circumstances.

Mr Boulten further asserts that Awad was not given proper instruction about the safety features of the buggy, which was a left-hand drive, nor told by resort staff what he should do if the battery failed. 

Mr Boulten asked Ms Williamson whether any tests were performed to determine if the slope of the road and shifting of body weight would have still caused a crash if the U-turn had been performed the alternative, legal way, to which she responded: ‘No.’

Ms WIlliamson: ‘No, we don’t put people in a buggy to test it.’

Mr Boulten: ‘But you could have used weights?’

Ms Williamson: ‘I know from experience, that on a turn, people will move on momentum.’ 

The court heard from an earlier police witness, Aaron Farrell, who was the deputy manager at Qualia resort and gave the couple a safety induction on the golf buggy.

Mr Farrell testified that he told Awad how to use the vehicle, that Queensland road rules applied to its operation, and that there were further instructions about the buggy on its steering wheel.

However, Mr Farrell conceded that he did not give Awad information about charging the buggy – as that was another staff member’s role – nor was it practice to provide drivers with a user manual. 

Addressing Ms Williamson, Mr Boulten noted the instructions inside the buggy advised: ‘Before using vehicle, read owners manual and safety warnings.’

‘On that assumption, did you check to see whether my client or any guest on Qualia were given a copy of the vehicle safety warnings?’ he said.

‘No I did not,’ she replied.

Mr Boulten: ‘Do you know how fast this buggy was travelling when it started to turn?

Ms Williamson: ‘No.’ 

Mr Boulten asked Ms Williamson if she accepted Awad’s claims made shortly after the accident, during which he told officers he was driving slowly.  

Ms Williamson: ‘That is what he said [he was doing]… The vehicles are limited to 20km/h, which feels slow.’

Mr Boulten: ‘But he said the vehicle was travelling 3km/h.’

Ms Williamson: ‘A vehicle travelling at 1 to 2km/h is not going to roll over.’

Seven golf buggy defaults detected

Owner of Mackay Electrical Vehicles Ronald John Martin was called by police to assist in the retrieval of data from the golf buggy, which he uploaded onto a SD card on July 22, 2023.

According to the data, the golf buggy had seven diagnostic faults, including low battery voltage, low state of charge, high pedal detection and lock out fault.

Mr Martin explained that low battery voltage and low state of charge were similar – both meaning the battery was flat – while high pedal detection was a ‘common’ and insignificant fault, which results when someone flips between reverse and accelerate too fast. 

He was unable to explain the meaning of the fourth fault, and noted that he was unable to download the date of the issues – meaning it is unclear when the issues arose.

The remaining three faults were missing from the screen shots of the report tendered as evidence.

The court was adjourned to give Mr Martin time to try and retrieve the data from a device he had brought with him to court, however, the file was corrupted and could not be accessed.

Mr Boulten asked Mr Martin how a low battery would have affected the performance of the buggy.

‘As the battery decreases, the performance of the car decreases,’ he said.

‘Normally, the battery of the car just goes slower.’ 

Second expert opinion 

The court also heard from Sergeant Michael Hollett, from the Mackay Forensic Crash Unit, who worked alongside Ms Williamson on the case and produced a forensic map of the scene.

Asked by Mr Pollard what he thought was the cause of the crash after speaking to colleagues and assessing the crash site, Mr Hollett said ‘the manner in which the U-turn was performed’.

‘The U-turn was performed in the completely wrong direction against the road rules,’ he said.

‘The correct way would of been to do the U-turn uphill, into the slope. 

‘Had the buggy performed the correct U-turn, it is likely that crash would have never occurred.’

Again, Mr Boulten argued no tests had been performed by police to determine whether or not that would have been the case. 

Mr Boulten: ‘You have not worked out what the impact would have happened on the vehicle on the downturn?’ 

Mr Hollett: ‘No.’

Mr Boulten: ‘You say it is likely it wouldn’t have tipped over, but you don’t know, do you?’

Mr Hollett: ‘No.’

‘A matter of seconds’

The court was shown body camera footage of Awad speaking to police officers at the resort shortly after the accident.

Distressed and hyperventilating, Awad can be seen holding his head in his hands and sobbing as he told police he was struggling to power the slow buggy when the acceleration suddenly kicked in.

‘As we started going up the hill, the buggy started to slow down. I would estimate it was travelling less than walking speed. A very slow walk,’ Awad told the court as he took the stand to give evidence.

‘By the time I got to the top of the hill, it was barely moving.

‘[Once I got to the intersection] I could see it was very steep and I couldn’t see around the bend. I looked straight and saw there were no cars, the buggy was moving one metre every two seconds, so I drove the buggy into the flattest part.’

‘As I was accelerating, I was moving the steering wheel, but because the buggy wasn’t moving, I ended up doing full turns, then I heard “vrrrroom” and the buggy accelerated very quickly,’ he said.

‘I started to have the thought, “Oh, the buggy might tip over,” but by the time I could have finished the thought, it had already tipped over.’

Awad said he had made the decision to perform the U-turn where he did because it seemed like it was the ‘flattest’ area in that section of road and he was struggling to power the vehicle up the slope.

He said the accident took place within five to six seconds over the space of three metres and he did not have the chance to apply the brakes.

However, Sergeant Pollard asserted the vehicle had not broken down to the point it was necessary to flout road rules.

‘I put to you, with the vehicle still moving, that you could have done the right U-turn. What do you say to that?’ Mr Pollard said.

Awad answered: ‘Based on the situation, where the buggy was barely moving, and I wanted to take it back, I made the decision to make a U-turn on the flattest part, which I thought was the safest part, to get us back there.’

Awad has pleaded guilty to charges of not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile phone.

The hearing will continue on Friday.