Mitchell Freeway crash trial: Driver Constanito Carmelo Mastrolembo accused of leaving David Kirby for dead

A driver accused of leaving an elderly man for dead after hitting him with his car on Mitchell Freeway lodged an insurance claim saying he had hit a kangaroo the day after the crash, a court has been told. Supermarket manager Constanito Carmelo Mastrolembo is on trial in the WA District Court accused of failing to stop to render assistance to 86-year-old David John Kirby, who was hit while riding his electric bicycle along the freeway around 4.30am on October 9, 2022. The court was told the 47-year-old was on his way to work at Farmer Jacks in Subiaco when he hit the much-loved grandfather from behind with his work car — a Mitsubishi ASX — in Kingsley. Mr Kirby, the court was told, was riding his e-bike in the emergency lane which had been turned into the left lane of the southbound lane of the freeway while it was undergoing roadworks. After being struck Mr Kirby, who the court was told had been advised he was experiencing early signs of dementia, was flung backwards into the air and hit the windscreen before landing on the ground, with half his body lying at the side of the lane. Mr Kirby’s badly damaged bike also landed at the side of the road with part of it involved in another smaller incident a few minutes later, the court was told. Prosecutor Stuart Packham told the jury it was the State’s case that Mr Mastrolembo did not stop, call triple-0 or remain at the scene and instead drove to Subiaco — leaving Mr Kirby on the side of the road to die. One he arrived, he said, he then called a man who handled insurance claims for the supermarket’s parent company advising him that he hit a kangaroo on the way to work and needed to fill out a claim form. The court was told that, the following day, on October 10, 2022, Mr Mastrolembo filled out a claim form reporting a kangaroo had jumped out in front of the car at 4.10am on Flynn Drive, Neerabup causing a collision. Mr Packham said Mr Mastrolembo even drew a picture of the kangaroo to illustrate what happened. He told the jury they will hear evidence that Mr Mastrolembo was aware a collision had occurred and that his explanation it was a kangaroo was “lies” adding Mr Kirby’s DNA had been found on the car’s windscreen. But Mr Mastrolembo’s lawyer, Jonathan Davies, told the jury at the time of the incident his client had an honest and reasonable, but mistaken, belief he had hit a kangaroo. He told the court that while his client was driving he was keeping a “proper” lookout at the time when there was a “flash” of something that “immediately appeared” before him and smashed into the left side of the windscreen. “As he drove forward he was not aware of any further damage and when he looked into the rear view mirror he could see nothing,” Ms Davies said. “From what he saw and heard, he formed a belief what he had hit was a kangaroo.” The trial continues.