William Swale: Diabetic driver's case over deaths of five Royal of Daylesford Hotel patrons discharged

A diabetic driver who ploughed into a beer garden and killed three adults and two children will walk from court a free man after all charges against him were struck out.

William Swale, 66, faced a three-day committal hearing this week in Ballarat Magistrates Court as he contested 14 charges, including five counts of culpable driving causing death, over the deadly November 2023 crash.

The type-1 diabetic, who was diagnosed in 1994, claimed he suffered a “severe hypoglycaemic attack” while driving his white BMW SUV when it crashed into patrons outside the Royal Daylesford Hotel.

Swale mounted a kerb and killed five people seated in the pub’s beer garden, Pratibha Sharma, 44, her daughter Anvi, 9, and partner Jatin Kumar, 30, and their friend Vivek Bhatia, 38, and his son Vihaan, 11.

Diabetes experts, police, paramedics, and a witness who found Swale sitting behind the wheel looking “wasted” within one minute of the crash, all gave evidence.

His barrister, Dermot Dann KC, asked the court to discharge the entire case against Swale as his client was unconscious at the time of the collision due to suffering a “severe hypoglycaemic attack”.

But prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams said Swale was a long-term diabetic who should have been aware of the risks of his blood sugar levels declining, when he got into the car to drive.

Magistrate Guillaume Bailin on Thursday afternoon found the prosecution case was flawed and there was not enough evidence to support a conviction on any of the 14 charges.

In handing down his decision, the magistrate was highly critical of the way the Crown had framed their case against Swale.

“The evidence is so weak that the prospects of conviction are minimal,” he told the court.

Mr Bailin discharged all of the prosecution’s charges against Swale, who will walk free from the court.