Jawad Al Hussein: Man faces manslaughter trial after two men on back of ute drowned in NSW floodwaters

A man who drove into floodwaters with two people on the back of his ute is facing trial for manslaughter after both were swept away and drowned.

The bodies of 30-year-old Ghosn Ghosn and 32-year-old Bob Chahine were found several days later, having been washed as far as two kilometres downstream.

Jawad Al Hussein pleaded not guilty as he faced two counts of manslaughter and two alternative charges of dangerous driving resulting in the men’s deaths.

The 43-year-old was behind the wheel as a group of four men attempted to cross a flooded causeway at Prestons Creek in Bevendale, in the NSW Southern Tablelands, about 8.30pm on October 31, 2022.

Neither of the deceased men could swim and they clung helplessly to the stricken vehicle as it was swept out of sight, a jury was told as the trial began in the District Court at Goulburn on Monday,

Appearing as the first witness, Mr Chahine’s wife Ramonda tearfully recounted a final phone call with her husband moments before the men entered the water.

“He said ‘I have to go it’s raining’,” she told the court.

“(He said )it was raining very heavily.

“The next morning I sent him a message saying ‘good morning’ and it didn’t go through.”

According to prosecutors, the vehicle stalled almost as soon as it entered the “very fast-flowing and relatively deep water” and was quickly swept off the causeway.

Crown prosecutor Glen Porter said during his opening address that the vehicle was not equipped with a “snorkel” external air intake which caused it to stall.

“He drove into those floodwaters knowing or believing that there was a significant risk that his vehicle would stall (and) that both passengers could not swim,” Mr Porter said.

While Al Hussein and another man who was inside the ute’s cab at the time were able to swim to safety, the two others either jumped or were swept from the vehicle and disappeared, the jury heard.

Their bodies were found several days later having been swept 1.2km and 2km from the causeway.

The causeway was a short distance from a hobby farm owned by Al Hussein, where the group were headed on the evening of the incident.

Defence barrister James Lang described Al Hussein’s actions as an error of judgment and said it does not meet the threshold for manslaughter.

“Everyone in their life makes errors of judgment,” he said.

“This error of judgment in a very short space of time resulted in the very unfortunate loss of life of two men”

Other witnesses expected to be called during the 10-day trial include a floodwater expert, members of NSW Police Polair and crash investigation units, and members of the NSW SES.

Calls made by Al Hussein to triple zero after the incident will also be played as evidence and the jury will visit the site where the incident occurred.

The trial continues on Tuesday.