An inquest has been opened into whether South Australia’s police force had more resources to potentially intercept mentally ill driver Harrison Kitt before he caused a fatal crash.
The investigation was initiated on Tuesday, July 30 after counsel assisting Martin Kirby said Kitt was reported by multiple witnesses driving dangerously before he killed senior police officer Joanne Shanahan (nee Panayiotou) and mother Tania McNeill in a collision in 2020.
Kirby details Kitt had been reported to South Australian police by copious witnesses for speeding and driving dangerously but they weren’t able to provide the registration plate.
The inquest found Kitt was also picked up by a speed camera at 12.41pm travelling north on Victor Harbor Road, Tatachilla at a speed of 187km/h.
“Because of the technology used and the manner in which those fixed cameras operate, this information was not passed on to SA Police or any other authority,” Kirby said.
“The unfortunate flow on from this limitation was that when later reports came of a speeding driver travelling dangerously on the Southern Expressway, the vehicle couldn’t be identified.”
Kitt was found not guilty of causing the two women’s deaths due to mental incompetence and was sentenced 10 years under supervision in 2022.
The ongoing inquest however, disregards Kitt’s undiagnosed bipolar disorder at the time and instead focuses on the police resources available in the hour leading up to the fatal collision that may have been able to identify and prevent the fatal collision.
“And if not, what, if anything might help prevent a similar event happening in the future,” Kirby concluded.
Source: The Advertiser.
