00:01After 11 hours of deliberations, the panel of 12 jurors acquitted 53-year-old Peter Jason
00:08Kaif with a not guilty verdict in the District Court in Townsville this afternoon. Mr Kaif had
00:14pleaded not guilty to a singular charge of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death
00:20and grievous bodily harm at the beginning of this trial. The trial heard that Mr Kaif believed he
00:27had a micro-sleep before the crash that killed three women and critically injured two young men
00:35near Bowen on Queensland's Bruce Highway on 30 June in 2024. The northbound bus had drifted into the
00:43southbound lane of traffic hitting the side of an oncoming caravan. In his summary, Judge Anthony
00:49Rafter SC told jurors that in order to find Mr Kaif guilty, the prosecution had to prove that he was
00:55fatigued on the day of the crash, knew he was fatigued and failed to manage his fatigue. Mr Kaif's
01:01lawyer Tom Hancock told the jury there were no signs on the morning that his client was dangerously
01:08fatigued. He raised that the bus had stopped for more than 70 minutes over five and a half hours of
01:15travel on the journey from Rockhampton to where the crash happened in Bowen. Mr Hancock told the trial
01:22that this crash was a tragedy, not a crime. Mr Kaif burst into tears upon hearing the not guilty
01:29verdict. He said, thank you, Your Honour, after he was told he was free to walk from court
01:35and afterwards he embraced one of the victim's loved ones.
01:39And he said, thank you very much. Thank you. And, that is shades of misteen……
01:41Dr useful, remember since, for saying that it's couch.
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