A Sydney bus company operator charged with involuntary manslaughter after one of his vehicles plunged into a ravine near the Kangaroo Valley in 2010 is seeking to blame the fatal crash on his dead father.
against Graham Lees' son, Simon Lees, 33, who was the company's operations manager at the time and allegedly responsible for maintaining its fleet of vehicles.The Crown will allege Simon Lees had repeatedly been told about the bus' defective brakes but failed to get them fixed, breaching his duty of care.
Lawyers for Simon Lees told the court that the maintenance of the buses was the legal responsibility of the company's accredited operator and sole shareholder, Graham Lees. "The Crown case is Simon Lees breached his duty of care by permitting the bus to be used while fully aware of the brake issues," he said.One of the first drivers on the scene of a fatal bus crash on Barrengarry Mountain nine years ago has described seeing "smoke and fumes" coming out of the vehicle as he made his way towards the wreckage.