An Australian tourist, Luke Samnuel Nardini, has been sentenced to 60 days in jail for causing a crash that resulted in the deaths of a Bay Area couple, reported The San Francisco Chronicle. Nardini, who admitted to driving the wrong way on Highway 84 near La Honda after mistaking the direction of travel on September 1, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
On the fateful day, Nardini, hailing from Narrogin, Australia, collided head-on with a vehicle carrying Jack and Linda Davis, both 80, who were killed in the crash. Nardini was coming to the end of a three-week vacation in the U.S. and, as per Australian news reports, is known for participating in the Formula 500 speedway race circuit for over a decade. However, his attorney emphasized this was a hobby and not a professional pursuit.
During the court proceedings, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Jackson extended a plea deal to the accused, and following its acceptance, the trial set for last month was canceled, KRON4 reports. Nardini's punishment includes jail time and the condition that he deliver speeches about the dangers of poor driving before three high schools and the San Mateo County Coroner's Office's Save A Youth program.
The attorneys for Nardini indicated that the crash was a tragic mishap, with Geoffrey Carr stating, "There was nothing egregious about the case" and how confusion can arise when driving abroad, especially in areas with inadequate signage during road closures, but District Attorney Steve Wagstaff described the 60-day jail sentence as standard for such cases, noting "Mr. Nardini clearly had no intent to harm anyone; he simply flipped into his Australian driving state of mind," according to San Francisco Chronicle via Hoodline.
Nardini is expected to begin his sentence on Friday after surrendering to the county jail, after which he will serve the time ordered by the judge and fulfill his community service obligations as part of the effort to prevent such incidents in the future.
