A YOUNG Asian migrant has pleaded guilty to killing his friend when he crashed a vehicle whilst driving dangerously and intoxicated north of Naracoorte earlier this month.
Lal Din Sang, 18, appeared via video-link in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court, where he pleaded guilty yesterday to aggravated causing death and harm by dangerous driving and two counts of driving without a licence.
Din Sang was arrested following a fatal crash on the Riddoch Highway, where he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a barrier before rolling off the road and colliding with a stobie pole.
A 23-year-old Victorian man – who was not wearing a seatbelt – was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.
A 22-year-old man sustained non-life threatening injuries and was taken to the Naracoorte Hospital before being flown to the Flinders Medical Centre.
The following day, major crash investigators arrested Din Sang and charged him with the offences.
He was breath-tested and returned a blood alcohol reading of .105, more than two times the legal limit.
Yesterday the court revealed Din Sang was caught driving without a licence less than a month before the fatal accident, however the matter was yet to be heard in court.
The prosecution said Din Sang was stopped by police at around 9.50pm on August 3 on Stuart Terrace, Naracoorte, because he was driving with no lights.
Checks revealed the defendant had never held a licence.
Din Sang travelled to Australia when he was 16 and has never held a driver’s licence in any country.
Magistrate Teresa Anderson committed Din Sang to the Mount Gambier District Court for arraignment on October 9.
In the week following the crash, Limestone Coast Police highway patrol Sergeant Paul Watts said the crash was definitely avoidable.
“People need to drive to the road conditions and definitely do not drive if you have consumed alcohol,” Sgt Watts said.
“We do as much as we can to prevent these incidents by having a visible presence on the road, but we can only do so much, the onus is on the driver.”
