Background of Company
Territory Transport Pty Ltd killed a worker and about 3 months later they changed their legal name to ACN 158 085 217 Pty Ltd. I can't opine as to why but it is possible that this was so that when prospective clients googled them, there was no link to Territory Transport.
ACN 158 085 217 Pty Ltd is a transport company ostensibly run from an address in Leonard Road, Hanwood NSW (A residential address). It is run by 37 year old RAYMOND MONTELEONE (the offender) who is a born and bred Griffith local. The offender started the company at the age of 27, at best he had 8 years experience with combination vehicles at this time. The offender also seems to have a backpackers and party business registered to a Yarran Street address, just around the corner from the Leonard Street address.
The incident
Gregory Edwards was employed by the offender. On 1 November 2019 the offender gave Mr Edwards a letter of termination as they were 'closing the business'.
On 3 November 2019, at the request of the offender, Mr Edwards drove a prime mover truck from Darwin to Adelaide and then from Adelaide to the Hanwood (Griffith) depot. He arrived at around 1100 on 5 November 2019. His partner, Ms Winifred Wihongi, accompanied him on the trip. The offender then asked Mr Edwards to drive from Griffith to Sydney in a different prime mover and trailer to transport a sedan and ute. The vehicle had loader ramps (hydraulic) but these were not used as a different worker decided to load both vehicles onto the truck with a forklift (this is a common practice in mechanic, scrap metal and vehicle transport sectors).
Sadly, if the ramps were used Mr Edwards would be alive. When Mr Edwards got to Sydney, he was killed by a ramp collapsing onto him the moment he loosened the chain holding it in place. This was due to an oil leak which had been in place a significant time. Sadly vehicle pre-start check policies had not been implemented by the offender. Additionally, the offender was not able to prove they had trained Mr Edwards (or even spoken to him) in relation to the use of Hydraulic ramps.
The ramp collapsed onto Mr Edwards and despite the efforts of a tilt tray driver and his partner, he died on scene.
The worst part is, the offender did not even display the minimum amount of contrition most criminals do; showing up to court. At least when you show up to court you show you take the matter seriously and are willing to face your penalty - it shows the bare minimum of Moral Fibre. Instead, he plead guilty by mailing the court a letter where he effectively whined about how the business failure had created financial pressure.
He claimed in the same letter he was not currently running a transport business. Given the basic safety overlooked, I hope that is true.
The full case name is;