After his teenage apprentice was crushed to death while working by himself on a truck, the mechanic was hit with a $500,000 fine.
Nearly three years after the death of 18-year-old Darby Paxton, KML Auto Electrics, a Dubbo-based company in rural New South Wales, was compelled to pay the substantial penalties.
However, due to the garage’s early admission of guilt, the punishment was lowered by 25%, to $375,000.
The mechanic must pay a total of $407,600, including the prosecutor’s charges of $32,600.
Darby had only been an apprentice auto electrician at the garage for 18 days when the terrible catastrophe occurred in January 2020. He had just begun his first year of employment there.
Previously, during his senior year of high school, he completed a two-week work placement with Kurt Michael Lew of KML Auto Electric.
On an Izuzu tilt cab truck from 2021, Darby and mechanic Mr. Lew were working on the vehicle’s electrical system.
The court determined that Mr. Lew had correctly elevated the vehicle but had not manually installed the lock pin that would have maintained the higher position of the cab.
The vehicle was elevated using its cab tilt stay mechanism, but the court concluded that the lock pin needed to keep the stay arm from folding had not been inserted.
When the technician was asked to service a truck that had broken down 40 minutes out from the business, Mr. Lew and Darby were still working on the vehicle.
Before departing to respond to the call-out, Mr. Lew instructed Darby to finish fastening the lights on the trailer.
Darby accidently touched the lever as he was working underneath the truck’s high cab, causing the car to flip over and crush him.
When he got back to the garage, Mr. Lew saw Darby entangled below the vehicle. He then asked for assistance when a worker from a neighbouring company arrived.
After pulling Darby out from beneath the vehicle with their help, emergency services were contacted.
At the site, the paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.
SafeWork NSW brought KML Auto Electrics before the NSW District Court on Friday for sentencing.
According to court records, the young apprentice’s death had a profound emotional impact on his family.
In her ruling, Judge Wendy Strathdee said that “the suffering that Darby’s family suffers is relentless, unrepentant, and heartbreaking.”
The absence of Darby makes it intolerable for the family to gather together to celebrate any significant occasions.
Their sorrow is overwhelming.
Because of the trauma, his mother Karen Paxton is no longer able to work as a nurse.
By not being there when his kid passed away, his father feels “tortured.”
His younger sister’s victim impact statement also included a description of her enduring anguish.
She remarked, “I am traumatized and will always be traumatized by having my brother removed from me.”
In court, Judge Strathdee expressed her sympathy to the family.
She remarked, “Having had the honor of hearing Darby’s family’s words, it is apparent that Darby was a valued, beloved, and crucial member of his family.”
Those who heard the remarks couldn’t help but be moved. They are experiencing intense anguish, and their destruction seems unending. I send my condolences to Darby’s mother, father, and sister and hope that they can eventually find some relief from their grief. After his teenage apprentice was crushed to death while working by himself on a truck, the mechanic was hit with a $500,000 fine.
Nearly three years after the death of 18-year-old Darby Paxton, KML Auto Electrics, a Dubbo-based company in rural New South Wales, was compelled to pay the substantial penalties.
However, due to the garage’s early admission of guilt, the punishment was lowered by 25%, to $375,000.
The mechanic must pay a total of $407,600, including the prosecutor’s charges of $32,600.
Darby had only been an apprentice auto electrician at the garage for 18 days when the terrible catastrophe occurred in January 2020. He had just begun his first year of employment there.
Previously, during his senior year of high school, he completed a two-week work placement with Kurt Michael Lew of KML Auto Electric.
On an Izuzu tilt cab truck from 2021, Darby and mechanic Mr. Lew were working on the vehicle’s electrical system.
The court determined that Mr. Lew had correctly elevated the vehicle but had not manually installed the lock pin that would have maintained the higher position of the cab.
The vehicle was elevated using its cab tilt stay mechanism, but the court concluded that the lock pin needed to keep the stay arm from folding had not been inserted.
When the technician was asked to service a truck that had broken down 40 minutes out from the business, Mr. Lew and Darby were still working on the vehicle.
Before departing to respond to the call-out, Mr. Lew instructed Darby to finish fastening the lights on the trailer.
Darby accidently touched the lever as he was working underneath the truck’s high cab, causing the car to flip over and crush him.
When he got back to the garage, Mr. Lew saw Darby entangled below the vehicle. He then asked for assistance when a worker from a neighbouring company arrived.
After pulling Darby out from beneath the vehicle with their help, emergency services were contacted.
At the site, the paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.
SafeWork NSW brought KML Auto Electrics before the NSW District Court on Friday for sentencing.
According to court records, the young apprentice’s death had a profound emotional impact on his family.
In her ruling, Judge Wendy Strathdee said that “the suffering that Darby’s family suffers is relentless, unrepentant, and heartbreaking.”
The absence of Darby makes it intolerable for the family to gather together to celebrate any significant occasions.
Their sorrow is overwhelming.
Because of the trauma, his mother Karen Paxton is no longer able to work as a nurse.
By not being there when his kid passed away, his father feels “tortured.”
His younger sister’s victim impact statement also included a description of her enduring anguish.
She remarked, “I am traumatized and will always be traumatized by having my brother removed from me.”
In court, Judge Strathdee expressed her sympathy to the family.
She remarked, “Having had the honor of hearing Darby’s family’s words, it is apparent that Darby was a valued, beloved, and crucial member of his family.”
Those who heard the remarks couldn’t help but be moved. They are experiencing intense anguish, and their destruction seems unending. I send my my condolences to Darby’s mother, father, and sister and hope that they can eventually find some relief from their grief.