6 days ago
Rochester crash victims' family calls for justice after police close investigation
The family of siblings killed in a head-on crash in Central Victoria last year says there has been no justice after police decided not to lay charges against the other driver.
Peter Grant, 65, from Shepparton was driving with his sister Dianne Smith when their car and a ute collided on the Northern Highway, 5 kilometres south of Rochester, on July 5, 2024.
Ms Smith, 68, from Kyabram had recently been told she was in remission from cancer.
The siblings were on their way to share the good news with friends and family in Bendigo.
Tragically, they never arrived.
Mr Grant and Ms Smith both died at the scene.
The driver of the ute and two passengers in the vehicle were injured in the crash.
Mr Grant and Ms Smith's nieces Amanda and Bronwyn, who asked to go by their first names only for privacy reasons, alleged the ute veered into the wrong lane, and said police had confirmed their uncle was not at fault.
But 11 days after the anniversary of the crash in July, they were told the investigation had been closed, with no action against the other driver.
"There's no justice, no charges were laid … there's still no answers," Amanda said.
The ABC understands police interviewed the driver, who gave limited information.
A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed detectives had finalised an "extensive and thorough" 12-month investigation into the crash, but declined to respond to questions about the driver's cooperation.
"It has been determined that no charges will be laid as there was no reasonable prospect of conviction," the spokesperson said.
Amanda said the "unexpected" decision had left them asking how no-one could be held accountable for two lives lost.
"Your actions, if they end in the same way our family's did, can tear lives apart just as it has done," Amanda said.
With no charges laid over their relatives' deaths, Amanda and Bronwyn want to ensure their loved ones are not forgotten.
The sisters said Mr Grant was a happy, outgoing man who "loved his cars and loved his family", and their "cheerful and bubbly" aunt, Ms Smith, was loved in her community and a dedicated volunteer.
"She always had a smile on her face," Amanda said.
Renee Brauer, a counselling and support services manager at free road trauma support organisation Amber Community, said a lack of formal justice could deepen a family's grief.
"It is not unusual for fatal crashes not to proceed through the legal system, but for many, this can leave them feeling as though their loss was invisible or did not matter," Ms Brauer said.
