A Darwin court has heard harrowing testimony of the moment an 11-year-boy was fatally injured after being hit by a ute in a supermarket car park.
Daemarius Purcell-Appo was pinned to a wall outside the shop in Moulden in December 2022 when a RAM 1500 Utility lurched forward.
He died a the scene.
The accident happened just days before Christmas as Daemarius and his uncle were visiting the local corner store.
There were emotional outbursts as the boy's family listened to the circumstances of his death.
Family wept as CCTV from that day was played in court, showing the moment Daemarius was crushed by the ute, the eight seconds he spent pinned against the wall, and the moments after the vehicle reversed.
Driver mistakenly hit accelerator
Wayne Peter Hunt leaves the NT Supreme Court in Darwin flanked by media Source: NITV / Laetitia Lemke
The NT Supreme Court heard on Wednesday how Hunt lost control of his vehicle while trying to reverse out of the corner-store car park.
Defence lawyers explained Hunt was trying to back up his ute to retrieve an iced coffee bottle that had fallen and rolled underneath the vehicle.
The court heard Mr Hunt was manoeuvring the vehicle backwards so he could reach the bottle when the accident happened.
The offender still couldn't reach the iced coffee so backed up again, but as he went to leave the cabin the ute moved forward, a sign that he had put the vehicle into drive.
“The offender applied his foot to the accelerator instead of the brake,” the transcript states.
“The vehicle lurched forward, mounted the walkway and collided into, and subsequently pinned, the victim against the exterior wall of the supermarket.”
Northern Territory Police investigate the crime scene where 11-year-old Daemarius Purcell-Appo died Source: NITV / Laetitia Lemke
In considering moral culpability, the court heard Hunt lives with a disability that requires him to wear a prosthetic on his lower right leg.
To comply with his driver’s licence, he can only operate modified vehicles with the foot pedals adjusted to accommodate his disability.
The ute Hunt was driving at the time of the accident wasn’t modified, and a blood test found he was under the influence of cannabis.
Hunt sat with his hand over his face as the court played the video of that day in court, at times weeping audibly.
Defence lawyer Matthew Hubber called for home detention for Hunt, saying his cannabis intoxication at the time of the accident was at a level similar to low range drink driving and that his client had shown extreme remorse.
“Despite this tragic, tragic result ... the criminal culpability test in this case doesn’t warrant a term of actual imprisonment,” Mr Hubber said.
“We’re not here trying to get out some ‘eye for an eye’ sentence. That’s not the way this works. It’s a tragic accident, he is culpable, he has pleaded guilty.”
Crown lawyer Ian Rowbottam argued significant jail time is required. He told Justice Meredith Huntingford the Territory’s road death toll is too high and sentencing needs to be strong enough to deter others from making the same mistakes.
“Whether [the offender Hunt] was intoxicated or not is not the point, he shouldn’t have been driving at all,” Mr Rowbottam said
“We are talking about the avoidable death of a young boy.”
“In my sentencing submission, the first factor to be considered is the extensive nature of the injuries suffered. It is clear from the video that Daemarius suffered considerably and that was put in train by the offender.”
The NT Supreme Court judge adjourned the case to consider submissions, with Mr Hunt’s Bail conditions extended. Sentencing is expected to be handed down this Friday.
The family declined to speak to the media or be photographed.
