00:00 Spared jail over a tragedy he should have prevented.
00:06 "Four people died, have you not got anything to say to their families?"
00:09 Simeona Teteru was today ordered to complete 200 hours of community work
00:14 for his role in the Eastern Freeway crash, which claimed the lives of four police officers.
00:19 "There is relief that after nearly four years this has finally come to an end.
00:24 There is also anger, dismay, disillusionment and disappointment that the sentence handed down today."
00:33 Teteru wasn't the man behind the wheel, but he did allow truck driver Mohinder Singh to work that day.
00:39 That was despite the sleep-deprived driver telling his boss that he'd been cursed by a witch.
00:45 "You put your hand on Singh's head and said some words which ended with,
00:49 'In Jesus' name I cast a spell out of you.' It appeared Singh believed that you had cleansed his spirit and rid him of the curse."
00:59 Hours later the consequences were deadly. Singh was on drugs when he fell asleep
01:04 and slammed into officers Joshua Presney, Kevin King, Lynette Taylor and Glenn Humphress.
01:10 Their deaths rocked Victoria Police and the wider community.
01:14 Teteru was originally charged with manslaughter, but after lengthy legal delays those charges were dropped.
01:20 Today he was sentenced for breaching heavy vehicle laws for recklessly exposing the public to danger.
01:27 The families of the victims can't understand why Teteru walked free,
01:31 but another of his colleagues in Sydney was jailed for up to three years.
01:36 "This shows complete contempt for the Victorian public who use the roads
01:40 because we all share the roads with the trucking companies that break the law."
01:44 The union that represents drivers hopes new laws that come into effect in August
01:48 will lift standards in the transport industry.
01:51 "These laws will make sure that drivers are paid properly, that they're trained properly,
01:55 that the companies that engage them are not putting pressures on them, deadly pressures."
01:59 The final legal chapter in this case appears now to be over
02:03 as the victims' loved ones prepare to mark the fourth anniversary of the tragedy.
02:08 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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