Jury in Supreme Court trial shown footage of accused drinking with others involved in Kalgup fatal crash

A jury has been shown footage of a 27-year-old woman drinking and three others drinking heavily in a South West pub before a fatal crash she is fighting charges against.

Melissa Jade Anthony’s Supreme Court trial began on Monday after she pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and two charges of driving dangerously causing grievous bodily harm in circumstances of aggravation.

Prosecutors allege Kyle Reece Vitali was killed and grievous bodily harm was caused to Vaughan Ashley Bornatici and Liam James Atherton when Ms Anthony’s blue Holden Commodore collided with a tree in Kalgup, near Busselton, early on September 3, 2022.

Opening the State’s case, prosecutor Ben Stanwix told the court the group of four had spent several hours drinking at the Kirup Tavern before leaving about midnight in two separate vehicles.

The court was told Mr Vitali’s vehicle had veered off the gravel at the intersection of Cundinup West Road and Vasse Highway in Cundinup, with Mr Vitali calling Ms Anthony at 12.56am — likely a request to be picked up.

The later, deadly crash occurred about 2.15am on Kalgup Road, with the prosecution to claim Ms Anthony was travelling at 185km/h two seconds prior to the vehicle hitting a tree.

Mr Stanwix also claimed alcohol was a major factor in the incident, with the prosecution to allege Ms Anthony conservatively had a blood-alcohol reading of above 0.160 at the time of the crash.

The court was told Mr Atherton sustained severe injuries to his spine and spleen, while Mr Bornatici suffered a femur fracture and injuries to his neck vertebrae. Mr Vitali died at the scene.

Mr Stanwix told the jury Ms Anthony had been “criminally negligent” and he described it as an “exceptionally serious case”.

“What makes her liable is her breach of duty to take reasonable care,” he said.

“The accused was drunk ... and she was driving at a high speed.”

Defence counsel Tony Hager told the court the circumstances were “nothing short of a tragedy” but asked jurors to set their feelings to one side during the trial.

He said there was little in dispute between the prosecution and defence, highlighting the potential for charges to be downgraded.

A written admission by Ms Anthony was presented to the court on Monday, admitting she had driven the car in the crash which caused Mr Vitali’s death and the injuries to Mr Atherton and Mr Bornatici.

It admitted a BAC reading of 0.124 from a blood test taken in hospital three hours following the incident.

The testimony of prosecution witnesses, including police responders, community members who were first on the scene following the crash and police investigators, concluded on Wednesday afternoon.

In statements read to the court, both Mr Atherton and Mr Bornatici said they did not remember what happened between them leaving the Kirup Tavern and waking up at Royal Perth Hospital.

Major crash reconstruction officer Sen. Const. Peter Price discussed crash data from the Commodore’s airbag system on Tuesday, which showed the vehicle was travelling at 185km/h about 2.5 seconds before the collision occurred.

But, his testimony came under fire from Mr Hagar who questioned him about incomplete road checks, and a mistake which was made on the initial copy of the fatal crash report first citing a different model of car.

Retired professor Mathew Martin-Iverson provided evidence which showed Ms Anthony could have had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.169 at the time of the crash.

After Mr Hagar mentioned Ms Anthony blew a roadside reading of 0.100 about an hour after the crash, Prof. Martin-Iverson said results show a lower reading than the actual blood-alcohol concentration.

“It would have been higher. How much higher is up for debate,” he said.

The jury was shown nearly 43 minutes of CCTV footage from the Kirup Tavern on the evening of September 2, 2022, in which the four friends could be seen drinking multiple cans of alcoholic drinks — primarily Emu Export — and spirit shots over a three-hour period.

At 10.45pm, the it showed Ms Anthony and Mr Vitali being recorded on a mobile phone taking a shot each together.

On Thursday, Ms Anthony took the stand to face questioning.

She told the court she had met Mr Vitali at her Ambergate home, with the childhood friends going out for mini-golf and a meal at the Ship Inn in Busselton in the afternoon, where she had an alcoholic ginger beer.

The duo later returned to her home before Mr Vitali returned to his Donnybrook residence and Ms Anthony went to Mr Bornatici’s home in Abbey for two hours without eating or drinking, the court was told.

The group then left to the pub, initially planning on staying together in the town, but later agreeing to stay at Ms Anthony’s home.

“I didn’t feel intoxicated at all,” she said.

The trial continued with closing statements as the Times went to print.