After nearly 20 years of waiting, the family of a boy who died after his car was thrown off the road by a speeding truck say they have received justice with the driver’s guilty verdict.
Rian Strathdee was six years old and asleep in the back of his family’s van when he was hit by a Kenworth truck driven by Allan Michael Dyson.
The collision, which occurred just after 9.30pm on the Hume Highway south-west of Sydney in November 2004, caused the Subaru to spin and roll down an embankment until it landed on its roof.
Rian was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene, while his father, Laurie Strathdee, and another child in the vehicle were seriously injured.
Dyson went on the run and was tracked down by police 18 years later when he was arrested in Queensland in October 2022 and extradited to New South Wales.
Although he initially denied any involvement, the 61-year-old eventually admitted he was behind the wheel during a criminal trial in Goulburn District Court.
The trial lasted until Friday when, after less than two hours of deliberations, a jury found Dyson guilty of one count of dangerous driving occasioning death and two counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
During the seven-day trial, Dyson’s legal counsel attempted to shift blame for the collision onto Rian’s mother, Jasmine Payget, who was driving the Subaru.
Six-year-old Rian Strathdee was killed when a truck driven by Allan Michael Dyson crashed into his family’s sedan and the vehicle left the road in 2004.
The collision, which took place just after 9.30pm on the Hume Highway south-west of Sydney, caused the car to fall onto its roof. Rian tragically died at the scene.
It was suggested that he was driving too slowly and had not properly checked his mirrors before pulling out onto the motorway.
The jury rejected these claims and the truck driver will face a sentencing hearing on October 18.
In a statement, Rian’s family said they were relieved that the result marked nearly 20 years of waiting for justice.
“We love you Rian and will never forget you,” his parents wrote.
Mr Strathdee said Dyson had finally taken some responsibility for his actions after “20 years of cowardice, 20 years of denial by the driver, 20 years of trying to find an answer, 20 years of keeping our pain in a box”.
But he still couldn’t understand how the truck driver could leave the scene of the fatal and tragic accident, and only admit to being the driver 20 years later.
A seven-day trial found Allan Michael Dyson (centre) guilty of one count of dangerous driving occasioning death and two counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
Rian Strathdee was asleep in the backseat of his family’s pickup truck when the tragedy occurred.
Ms Payget said hit-and-run accidents were particularly cruel and added further anguish to the pain of losing a child.
During the trial, she told jurors she felt the car “fill with light” moments before impact and simultaneously heard the sound of a truck’s horn.
Mr Strathdee told the court he heard a loud bang and an explosion before feeling the car fly through the air.
The couple passed out and woke up hanging upside down in the vehicle.
Another witness driving nearby and listening to his UHF radio heard someone with a thick Australian accent say: “I’ve sorted out the Subaru. They’re in the paddock now.”
Prosecutors argued the man speaking was Dyson, a claim he denied.
