Father John Varvaris pleads guilty to negligent driving after incident with elderly parishioner

·

An elderly priest with a long-standing commitment to his community is facing uncertainty as he awaits the outcome of a tragic incident involving a parishioner he accidentally struck with his car. 

85-year-old Father John Varvaris appeared in the Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday, March 5, after pleading guilty to negligent driving causing grievous bodily harm. 

According to The Daily Telegraph, Father Varvaris was driving a woman, whom he had known through his church, to her late husband’s grave for prayers on September 24, 2022. 

Upon returning her home to San Souci, the 87-year-old woman disembarked from the vehicle, only for Father Varvaris, who intended on reversing, to accidentally accelerate forward, hitting the woman who stood to the left of the car.

The woman fell face-first into a knee-high brick fence, which resulted in her obtaining life-changing injuries.

Following the incident, Father Varvaris immediately helped the woman and called triple zero, where police and paramedics then attended the scene. She was taken to St George Hospital.

st George hospital
The parishioner was taken to St George Hospital in Sydney following the incident. Photo: St George ICU.

The woman was left with a brain bleed, facial laceration and broken teeth, injuries to her eye and an ankle and foot fracture. Documents revealed that since the incident, she hasn’t been able to walk unassisted.

When Father Varvaris was seen in court, his lawyer said he would feel guilty for the “unfortunate accident” for the rest of his days.

His lawyer said Father Varvaris had “momentary inattention” and the consequences were unintentional.

The court heard Father Varvaris’ children had also instigated that their father have a restriction placed on his licence to not travel beyond 15km per day at the time, due to the number of hours he spent serving the community and not taking breaks.

It was also revealed in court that Varvaris had no criminal history and had devoted his life in a “selfless and unwavering way” to his community and Christianity for over 50 years.

The court heard Father Varvaris’ license was cancelled in December 2022 on medical grounds, and over his 58 years of driving, he only had 16 minor traffic offences.

Magistrate Philip Stewart declared Varvaris’ case be adjourned to April 2.

Source: The Daily Telegraph.

Advertisement

Share:

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TGH

By subscribing you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Advertisement

Latest News

HACCI National Federation holds online event on Greek-Australian trade relations

HACCI National Federation marked a milestone with its inaugural online event ‘Bridging Markets: Greece-Australia Trade Insights’ on March 20.

Genocide mentioned in Victorian Parliament

The movement for the recognition of the Genocide of the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks has gained momentum in Victorian Parliament this week.

Evzones to lead ANZAC tributes and cultural celebrations in Adelaide and Sydney

The Evzones will visit Australia from 23 April to 4 May 2025, participating in Anzac Day and a series of cultural events.

Consent education safe as Chanel Contos responds to Dutton’s ‘indoctrination’ pledge

Peter Dutton has pledged a Coalition government would review the national school curriculum to eliminate “indoctrination.”

Alexia Apostolakis joins Matildas as train-on player

Melbourne City defender, Alexia Apostolakis, has been called into the Matildas squad as a train-on player ahead of the upcoming friendlies.

You May Also Like

Greek man jailed for life for raping and killing US scientist

Her body was found by cavers in a bunker, a system of man-made caves used by the Nazis during the occupation of Crete in World War Two.

Upcoming workshop aims to attract more young Greek Australian women in cybersecurity field

Founding Director and CBWN Chair, Freda Miriklis, calls young Greek Australian women to participate in a free cybersecurity workshop.

BREAKING: Australian government and private sectors hit by major cyber attack

Australia is currently being hit with a massive cyber attack by a “sophisticated, state-based cyber actor”, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says.