Kaylin Benjamin Page: Brisbane drunk driver jailed over deaths of moped riders leaves 'life-long' impacts

A drunk driver who hit and killed two men as they were riding a moped has caused “enormous” and life-long impacts on the victims’ families, a judge has said.

Kaylin Benjamin Page faced Brisbane District Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing death while intoxicated and then leaving the scene when he ought to have known people were injured.

Judge Anthony Rafter heard the 41-year-old Palmwoods man had been drinking rum and Coke starting at 11.30am on October 22, 2021, at another person’s home in Caboolture, north of Brisbane.

Page left the home after dark and drove his Skoda Octavia vehicle for 3.6km before fatally colliding with Jared Hoggan, 30, and Simon Fergestad, 32, as they rode together on a single-seat Yamaha CY50 moped.

“Your driving was seriously culpable and led to the deaths of two much-loved men,” Judge Rafter said.

“The victim impact statements speak movingly ... their loss has had an enormous impact on their family and friends, a life-long impact.”

Crown prosecutor Brendan White said Page struck the rear of the moped at 9.07pm as the victims were approaching an intersection.

“The collision propelled the motorcycle forward and it collided with a stationary white utility. Both deceased came off the motorcycle and fell onto the road and lost their helmets,” Mr White said.

Mr White said Mr Fergestad suffered a major head injury and died at the scene despite efforts of bystanders and ambulance officers to revive him, and Mr Hoggan died the next day in hospital.

The moped was unregistered and had a capacity limit of 90kg but the combined weight of the victims was 134kg.

“The bike was overloaded. It appears either the lights were not working or not on at the time, making it harder to observe. Both (victims) had high concentrations of methamphetamine in the blood,” Mr White said.

Page told police the next day he had been “black-out drunk” and might have hit something with his vehicle.

Mr White said Page had an appalling traffic record for speeding and drink driving with his licence previously suspended 19 times.

Page’s barrister Joshua Jones said his client had substance abuse issues that were made worse around the time of offending by him witnessing the accidental death of a close family member.

“He accepts responsibility. He is remorseful. He is deeply ashamed of his behaviour,” Mr Jones said.

Judge Rafter said the victims’ intoxication and condition of their moped had contributed to the crash but Page had significantly contributed through his serious and aggravated offending.

“You reasonably should have known the victims would have been injured but you left before police arrived. You were more concerned about your own welfare,” Judge Rafter said.

He said Page had engaged in rehabilitation and counselling while showing remorse.

Page was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years’ imprisonment and he will be eligible to apply for parole on June 22, 2024 due to serving 956 days on remand.