When William Swale crashed his car into a beer garden in regional Victoria, he caused the deaths of five people of Indian origin including Pratibha Sharma. This week, he has been acquitted. The Ballarat Magistrates’ Court dismissed all 14 charges against Swale, calling the case “weak.”
The 66-year-old Swale faced a three-day committal hearing this week over the November 2023 crash, which claimed the lives of Pratibha Sharma, 44, her daughter Anvi, 9, her partner Jatin Kumar, 30, and their friends Vivek Bhatia, 38, and his son Vihaan, 11. Vivek Bhatia’s wife and younger son were hospitalised.
William Swale had faced multiple charges, including five counts of culpable driving causing death, two counts of negligently causing serious injury, and seven counts of reckless conduct for driving with low blood glucose levels.
A Type-1 diabetic diagnosed in 1994, Swale claimed he experienced a “severe hypoglycaemic attack” while driving his white BMW SUV, which led to the crash outside the Royal Daylesford Hotel. The incident occurred around 6:07 p.m. on November 5 when Swale mounted a curb and drove into the beer garden.
The judgement has left the community stunned.
“This is not justice,” Ashok Bhatia, the father of Vivek Bhatia, told ABC after the judgement. “There is no value of five lives. At least the man should realise that so many people died, so many people were injured.”
Swale expressed his ‘deepest sympathy’ to the victims’ families and the community via his lawyer, in a single sentence statement.
Expert witnesses, including diabetes specialists, police, paramedics, and a bystander who found Swale looking “wasted” shortly after the crash, testified during the hearing. Evidence presented showed that Swale’s blood sugar dropped from 7.8 to 2.9 within two hours. After the crash, paramedics found his blood sugar levels were below 1.1, indicating he was near a coma or death.
Swale’s barrister, Dermot Dann KC, argued that Swale was unconscious at the time due to a “severe hypoglycaemic attack,” and asked the court to dismiss the case. Prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams contended that as a long-term diabetic, Swale should have been aware of the risks before driving.
However, Magistrate Guillaume Bailin found significant flaws in the prosecution’s case and ruled that there was insufficient evidence for a conviction on any of the 14 charges. He criticised the crown for basing the negligence claim on events starting at 5:36 p.m. rather than earlier in the day, and concluded that the chances of a conviction were “minimal.” The entire case was dismissed.
Victorian prosecutors may still bring Daylesford crash driver William Swale back to court, stating they will “carefully review” the magistrate’s decision to dismiss the charges against him.
Although the criminal case against William Swale has been dropped, a coronial inquest will continue to investigate the deaths of Pratibha Sharma, her daughter Anvi, Ms. Sharma’s husband Jatin Kumar, and Vivek Bhatia and his son Vihaan.
Prosecutors have the option of using a rare legal strategy called a direct indictment to take William Swale to trial in the County Court.
“The Office of Public Prosecutions acknowledges Magistrate Guillaume Bailin’s decision not to commit Mr. William Swale to trial over the tragic Daylesford crash last year,” a spokesperson for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) told ABC.
“As is customary, His Honour’s decision will be carefully reviewed in line with Prosecution Guidelines to determine whether the case should proceed to trial.
“Our office extends its deepest sympathies to the victims injured in this tragic event and to the families of those who lost their lives,” said the spokesperson.
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