Driver locked up after facing families of five killed

There was nothing truck driver Andrew McClusky could do to avoid a crash that killed five people and a dog instantly. But he still blames himself every day. "The significant loss of five lives still haunts me mentally and emotionally to this day," he told a court, shaking and through tears, on Wednesday. "I can't imagine a day when this will ever leave me." Mr McClusky was behind the wheel of a milk tanker on Murray Valley Highway in Victoria's north in April 2023, when Mercedes Benz driver Christopher Joannidis ignored warning signs and crossed the intersection at Labuan Road. Joannidis crashed into a Nissan Navara with five passengers inside, pushing it into the path of Mr McClusky's truck at Strathmerton at 2.27pm on April 20. The ute's driver Deborah Markey, 62, her dog Sophie, and four Taiwanese farm workers - Zhi-Yao Chen, Pin-Yu Wang, Wai Yan Lam and Hsin-Yu Chen - were all killed instantly. "I cannot speak his name for what he has done to us, the impact and stress of that day still haunts me and it will forever," Mr McClusky, who was injured in the crash, told the County Court in Melbourne. "A motor vehicle can be a lethal weapon in the wrong hands." Joannidis, who previously spent two days in jail, had his bail revoked on Wednesday after facing Mr McClusky and the families of his five other victims. The 30-year-old has pleaded guilty to five counts of dangerous driving causing death. He was stopped by police and given a ticket for speeding 118km/h in a 100km/h zone about 45 minutes before the three-vehicle crash. "The other issue with this road, we've had nine killed on it in the last 18 months, basically because people don't see give way and stop signs," a police officer told him, in footage shown to court. Less than one minute after driving away, Joannidis ignored three sets of rumble strips, two warning signs and two give way signs as he sped through the intersection and hit the ute, prosecutors said. Joannidis, supported in court by his family and girlfriend Eleanor Theeboom who was injured in the crash, cried from the dock as he listened to 11 harrowing statements on how his driving had destroyed his victims' families. Ms Markey's son Daniel Montero said his mother renovated her home to give overseas farm workers a safe place to stay. "Her last act in this world was an act of kindness and love for others," he told the court. "I will miss her every day until the end of my days." The grieving families of the four Taiwanese nationals watched the hearing via video link as prosecutor Daniel Porceddu read their statements. "The accused's actions have not only stolen Pin-Yu's future but have also torn apart our family, every day I am sentenced to a life sentence," Ms Wang's mother Yi-Chuan Chiu said. Hsin-Yu Chen's father Chu-an hoped Joannidis would be jailed and said he wanted to send a clear message: "the value of life must not be underestimated and the law will punish such negligent behaviour". Defence barrister Paul Smallwood acknowledged Joannidis' "catastrophic" offending and the "immeasurable trauma" he had caused. He said Joannidis was an "empathetic, sensitive soul" who was genuinely remorseful, and was seen shaking and crying in his prison cell after the crash. However, the barrister said his client should not be jailed because of his psychiatric conditions, including OCD, and argued there were trees and a crest obscuring Joannidis' vision of the highway. Despite these pleas, Judge Gavan Meredith revoked Joannidis' bail as he was likely facing a prison term. Joannidis was taken into custody and will face the court again on January 23.