Black Spur death hearing

By DION TEASDALE
A CORONIAL inquest into the deaths of two Healesville paramedics on the Black Spur last year will be held next month and is expected to take five days to reach a verdict.
The inquest, scheduled to begin on 22 August at Melbourne Coroner’s Court, will aim to identify the cause of the deaths of Robert Bland and Phillip Oakley.
The two men were killed on 2 January 2004 after the ambulance they were travelling in failed to negotiate a bend on the windy stretch of road between Healesville and Narbethong.
Melbourne Coroners Court principal registrar Rick Roberts said it was decided at a directions hearing held on Monday, 18 July to set aside five days for the coroner to hear reports from investigators, experts and witnesses.
“It was determined that the case is now ready to proceed. Police have submitted their brief to the coroner along with a number of other expert reports,” Mr Roberts said.
Victoria Police’s Major Collision Investigation Unit (MCIU), Ambulance Employees Australia (AEA) and the Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MSA) have all welcomed the setting of the date for the inquest.
However, while the MCIU and the MSA remain tightlipped about their contributions to the inquest and any possible findings, the AEA has outlined its intended case.
“Our position is we have some concerns about the lack of driver training, vehicle safety, the keeping of maintenance records and a number of mechanical issues that we will raise within the case,” AEA general secretary, Steve McGhie said.
He said the lack of driver training with the ABS braking system, concerns specifically to do with the overheating of the vehicle’s fuel system, and other associated mechanical problems were matters the AEA wanted the inquest to address.
“We want to see a full analysis of the factors beyond driver error that could have contributed to the deaths of these two paramedics,” he said.
Mr McGhie said the AEA had already submitted an engineer’s report to the coroner and was preparing to present at least one witness statement.
MAS media manager James Howe said he was unable to comment on specific concerns raised by the AEA because the matter was before the coroner’s court.
“We don’t wish to speculate on the extent to which concerns about the safety of the vehicle the paramedics were travelling in will be included in the inquest,” he said.
“We are supportive of any measures that will bring about a full and thorough investigation into the matter but we are not anticipating any particular outcomes at this stage.”
Mr Howe said the MAS had complied with all requests from police and the coroner throughout investigations and would accept the coroner’s findings at the conclusion of the inquest.
“We will look at and adopt any outcomes, rulings or recommendations the coroner suggests,” he said.