'It's been life-changing': Garbage truck driver who ran over and killed a sleeping homeless man during a morning bin run breaks down in tears as he's cleared of wrongdoing
- Homeless man, 31, died after being run over by the garbage truck last May
- Emaciated man mistaken for a pile of blankets with 'no bulge and no movement'
- Driver wept in court as he was acquitted of negligent driving causing death
- Magistrate describes the 'miserable circumstances' as 'utterly unique'
A garbage truck driver who accidentally ran over a homeless man he mistook for a pile of blankets wept as he was cleared of a negligent driving charge on Monday.
Mathew Hayne, 31, was crushed to death during the morning bin run on May 21 last year in Bourke Lane, in Sydney's inner city suburb of Redfern.
The homeless man who stood at 1.58 metres tall weighed just 53 kilograms as he slept on a thin foam mattress in the narrow laneway.
A garbage truck driver who accidentally ran over a homeless man he mistook for a pile of blankets wept as he was cleared of a negligent driving charge on Monday
Truck driver Ian Juurik, 36, from Rockdale in Sydney's south, had not realised Mr Hayne was there and mistook him for a pile of blankets as he navigated the difficult and narrow lane at slower than walking pace, avoiding cars and walls.
Mr Hayne was trapped under the truck with critical injuries and though paramedics treated him at the scene he could not be saved.
Mr Juurik held his head in his hands and wiped away tears in the Downing Centre Local Court on Monday as magistrate Jennifer Giles acquitted him of negligent driving causing death.
Mr Juurik outside the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Monday after being acquitted of dangerous driving causing death over the tragic accident. The devastated garbage truck driver had earlier wept in court as the verdict was given
'It appears to him (Mr Juurik) as a blanket with no appearance of containing anyone, no bulge and no movement,' magistrate Jennifer Giles said on Monday.
'I don't believe that can amount to falling short of the standard of care ... to be expected of the ordinary, prudent driver in these circumstances and I'm finding Mr Juurik not guilty.'
Magistrate Giles said the garbage truck driver was 'almost sobbing' when he phoned triple-zero and later engaged in a 'most distressing' recorded interview with police in which he repeatedly stated 'it just looked like a blanket'.
Melissa Hayne, mother of the homeless man Mathew Hayne who was crushed to death outside court on an earlier hearing date in March. Ms Hayne said she had been looking for her son. 'He has a family and was well-loved,' she said.
'Mr Juurik is utterly guileless and completely unguarded in everything he tells the police. I don't believe anyone could doubt anything that Mr Juurik says in his record of interview,' Ms Giles said.
'After watching it a number of times, I did even wonder whether he was in a fit state to be interviewed, it is so full and frank and distressed. You couldn't doubt it.'
She described the 'miserable circumstances' as 'utterly unique'.
Melissa Hayne with a tattoo memorial to her son who died in a tragic accident as he slept
Mr Juuric told reporters outside the court that he was relieved the case was now over.
'It's been life changing, yeah - very tough,' he said.
A graffiti wall in the laneway has been decorated with heartbreaking messages of love for the homeless man from his family.
'In loving memory, forever in our hearts, till we meet again my son, love always from mum,' read one.
'Missing u brother, love Mark, Mitchell & Mason' read another.
The graffiti wall in Bourke Lane, Redfern, paying solemn tribute to Mathew Hayne who was crushed to death by a garbage truck as he slept rough
'Forever young, forever free, you are missed very dearly, forever in our hearts,' read another.
Mathew's mother Melissa Hayne said last month she had been 'looking in the wrong direction' for her eldest son but 'was six months too late'.
'He has a family and was well-loved,' she said.
The City of Sydney council has reportedly changed parking conditions at Bourke Lane as a result of the death.
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