Tycoon looked ‘wasted’ after killing five people when his BMW ploughed through a Daylesford beer garden, court told – as disturbing new details are revealed
A wealthy property tycoon charged with killing five people after his car rammed into a pub beer garden appeared ‘wasted’ moments after the crash, a court has heard.
Bill Swale, 67, was charged with five counts of culpable driving causing death, two counts of negligently causing serious injury and seven counts of reckless conduct endangering life.
Swale appeared in Victoria’s Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Monday for a preliminary hearing to determine if he will face a jury trial in a higher court.
The court heard Swale had participated in a shooting event in nearby Clunes before he driving to Daylesford, about 114km north-west of Melbourne’s CBD.
Deli worker Martin Hinck had been among the first to attend the horrific scene outside the Royal Daylesford Hotel on November 5 last year.
He told the court he saw Swale sitting motionless in his BMW after it came to a rest about a minute after the crash.
In his statement to police, read aloud in court, Mr Hink claimed Swale appeared ‘wasted’.
‘My recollection is that he was quite a flushed colour, his mouth was open and his eyes were closed,’ he told the court.
Bill Swale – a wealthy property tycoon – was behind the wheel of a car which allegedly rammed into a pub beer garden killing five people. Pictured centre, he attended the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Monday
William Swale is accused of ignoring repeated alerts to treat his low glucose levels for more than 50 minutes before the crash
Swale was represented on Monday by high profile criminal barrister Dermot Dann, KC.
Mr Dann is regarded as one of the best criminal defence lawyers in the country and the man responsible for clearing the name of once-convicted killer Katia Pyliotis.
He is also currently defending former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn.
Swale is accused of ignoring repeated alerts to treat his low glucose levels for more than 50 minutes before his car ploughed into families outside the Royal Daylesford Hotel.
Pratibha Sharma, 44, her daughter Anvi, 9, partner Jatin Kumar, 30, their friend Vivek Bhatia, 38, and his son Vihaan, 11, all died when Swale’s vehicle crashed into the pub after he allegedly suffered a diabetic episode.
The court heard Swale had been observed by competitors at a shooting event behaving in an unusual way.
One shooter who shot alongside Swale that morning claimed Swale had made light of an incident that saw a teammate fall over.
‘If you were on the moon, you’d still be falling,’ Swale allegedly joked after witnessing the fall.
‘It was a really bizarre thing to say when somebody falls over carrying baggage – a firearm in a case,’ the witness said.
‘We all assisted the person to get up but that was the comment that Mr Swale made, which seemed quite inappropriate at the time rather than assisting.’
Another witness claimed Swale had made mistakes scoring that day and appeared to be miserable.
‘I thought it’s always a fun thing to do and he didn’t seem to be smiling that much,’ the witness told the court.
Vihaan Bhatia (bottom right) and his father Vivek (top left) were killed in the crash while mother Ruchi Bhatia (top right) and brother Abeer (bottom left) were treated in hospital
Daily Mail Australia revealed last year Swale and his wife have been buying and selling multi-million dollar properties for years.
In November the couple sold a home titled Tower House in Kyneton for an estimated $3million, and just years earlier offloaded another $3million-plus property named Grayton House in Woodend.
Swale appeared on Channel Seven travel show A Moveable Feast in 2017 where he showed off the Grayton property to radio host Ross Stevenson and co-host Kate Stevenson.
During a previous hearing, the court heard Swale had made his fortune working as an IT guru in New Zealand, where he was born.
Mr Dann said Swale had started out his career selling photocopiers before building his fortune developing software for some of Australia’s largest banks and energy companies.
Bill Swale (left) appeared on a television program that showcased his wealth
At the hearing, Sergeant Peter Romanis told the court Swale had been returning from a clay shooting tournament in Clunes when he stopped in Daylesford.
Swale, who was diagnosed with diabetes in 1994, scanned his blood glucose levels at 5.17pm which returned a low reading and an alarm sounded one minute later indicating he should check his levels.
CCTV footage showed him entering a restaurant opposite the pub a few minutes later asking for a table but returned to his car as there were none available.
Swale was then seen on CCTV at 5.42pm driving his car around the area before it crashed into the pub patrons about 6pm.
The hearing continues.
