Coroner & Legal
DPP Tim Ellis found guilty of causing death by negligent driving
Tasmania’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Tim Ellis, has been found guilty of causing death by negligent driving.
Ellis’s car crashed head-on into another car being driven by Natalia Pearn, 27, on the Midland Highway in March last year. She died in the crash.
He had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The case hinged on whether Ellis was consciously in control of his car in the seconds before the crash, or whether he had suddenly fallen asleep.
During the hearing, Ellis said he been diagnosed with sleep apnoea, may have fallen asleep and could not remember the collision.