Michael Thomas Woodbridge: $2000 fine for man who caused road crash that left motorcyclist seriously injured

A man who caused a serious crash in Collingwood Heights after he turned across traffic without giving way and collided with a motorcycle rider, leaving the rider in a wheelchair, has been fined. Michael Thomas Woodbridge, 45, appeared in Albany Magistrates Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to careless driving causing bodily harm. Police prosecutor Sgt Gary Simpson told the court on July 17 last year Woodbridge had been driving north on Brewster Road and turned across traffic into the driveway of the Australian Christian College Southlands. Sgt Simpson said Woodbridge did not slow down or look properly at the oncoming lane of traffic before he turned, and the victim, who was heading south on his Ducati motorcycle, crashed into the side of Woodbridge’s Hyundai panel van. The motorbike rider was thrown from his vehicle and into the van, then on to the road. He was taken to Albany Health Campus for treatment but later transferred to Royal Perth Hospital for further scans that determined he had suffered a dislocated shoulder and two internal fractures to his pelvis. The court was told the victim needed to use a wheelchair for some time following the crash as he recovered from his injuries. Sgt Simpson said Woodbridge had turned without giving way, and the oncoming motorbike rider had had “almost no opportunity to take evasive action” before the collision. Defence lawyer Eva Svanberg said the driveway to the school was just below the crest of a hill, about 70m away, and said the crash report had stated Woodbridge would only have been able to see the motorbike for a matter of seconds once it came over the hill. She said Woodbridge had stayed at the scene and administered first aid while waiting for emergency services, and he “just didn’t see” the motorbike when he turned. Ms Svanberg also applied for a spent conviction, saying Woodbridge and his family had possible plans to move to New South Wales in the future, and finding new work with a traffic conviction could prove difficult. Magistrate Rosemarie Myers reminded Woodbridge prosecutors were not suggesting he had intentionally acted to hurt or endanger the victim, but that he had not taken due care while behind the wheel. She accepted the accident had been a “momentary lapse of judgment”, but said everyone on the road had a responsibility to watch out for other road users and take all the necessary precautions to avoid a collision. Woodbridge was fined $2250, had his licence disqualified for three months, and was granted a spent conviction.