Inquest into the death of Jonathan Hempel
Deceased
Jonathan William Hempel
Demographics
62y, male
Date of death
2018-06-04
Finding date
2020-01-03
Cause of death
blunt force chest injury (crush type)
AI-generated summary
Jonathan Hempel, a 62-year-old soil scientist, was fatally injured when run over by a vehicle driven by Ms Yuk Chu Lin at their residential gate in Wagait Beach. While Mr Hempel was unlocking the gate, Ms Lin inadvertently drove the vehicle forward instead of reversing, striking him and breaking through the gates. She then drove over his body. Ms Lin's explanation that she couldn't pull him out lacks credibility given she had owned the vehicle for seven years and would have known it moves without accelerator application. The coroner found the accelerator use dangerous and the continued driving over Mr Hempel reckless and highly dangerous. While Ms Lin was convicted of negligent driving and imprisoned for two months (suspended), the coroner referred the matter back to police and the Director of Public Prosecutions, believing more serious offences may have been committed.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- driver failed to ensure vehicle was in reverse gear before reversing
- driver applied accelerator when vehicle was close to deceased
- driver continued to drive over deceased after initial impact
- darkness at the scene
- vehicle positioned close to gate
Coroner's recommendations
- Matter referred to Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions with belief that offences may have been committed in connection with the death
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