Arabic version: باود ينفي قيادة المركبة في حادث نيويل هايواي المميت

According to ABC News, Jack Bowd has pleaded not guilty to four counts of dangerous driving causing death over a September 2024 crash on the Newell Highway near Tomingley, south-west of Dubbo. The 25-year-old is standing trial before Judge Michael Smith in the Dubbo District Court.

Bowd was the sole survivor of the crash, which killed his passengers and friends Lochie Jacobs, 18, and Joey Urban, 19, along with Parkes couple Sue and Graham Tait, both 57. The court heard Bowd and his friends had abandoned a hunting trip after he ran over one of his dogs and were taking the injured animal to the Orana Veterinary Hospital in Dubbo.

Crown Prosecutor Michelle Swift told the court the group stopped for fuel at a Parkes service station, where CCTV showed Bowd entering the driver’s seat of a Toyota Hilux. The prosecution alleges the ute was travelling at 134km/h when it attempted to overtake a B-double truck on a bend, crossed double unbroken lines and collided head-on with the Taits’ Toyota HiAce van.

The court heard mobile-phone footage allegedly showed Bowd driving at 160km/h while holding a vodka drink. Prosecutors will rely on DNA and expert evidence in arguing he was driving, including evidence that 38 of 39 blood samples from the front of the driver’s steering-wheel airbag matched Bowd’s DNA.

Bowd has repeatedly denied being the driver, telling police he had been sitting in the back seat after swapping with Jacobs. Defence barrister Iain Todd said Bowd’s account was “honest and credible” and argued phone GPS data supported a stop to change drivers. The trial is expected to continue for two weeks.