A triple zero decision made by former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews after he and his wife collided with a cyclist has finally been revealed.
Andrews was state opposition leader when the van he, his wife and three children were traveling in collided with teenage cyclist Ryan Meuleman near Blairgowrie, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, on January 7, 2013.
Mr Andrews has always maintained that his wife, who was driving, came to a complete stop when a Mr Meuleman, now an adult, crashed into their Ford Territory.
In the filtered triple zero call, obtained by The Herald of the SunMr Andrews is heard telling the operator: “We hit him.”
“We turned right onto Ridley Street and a kid flew across the bike lane and we hit him,” he said.
“He’s a teenager… I’d say he’s… he’s 15 years old.”
The operator asked Mr Andrews how many ambulances were needed and if anyone else had dialed triple zero in relation to the accident.
“Ahhh, I don’t think so… ahh, my wife, my wife might be,” said Mr. Andrews.
The triple zero call revealing what happened after Daniel Andrews’ wife hit teenage cyclist Ryan Meuleman on January 7, 2013 has been released.
The accident left Ryan Meuleman with serious injuries.
The operator then confirmed that another call had been received from nearby 10 Ridley Street, to which Mr Andrews replied: “Well, that’s the one.”
When emergency services arrived at the scene, Ms Andrews was not given a breathalyzer test.
Andrews also told police in a statement less than a month after the accident: “I want to make it clear: the cyclist collided with our vehicle.”
But questions have been raised about the crash preparations and police handling of the situation after a report into the crash published in September this year showed the investigation was “deeply flawed”.
Mr. Andrews criticized what he called “Appalling conspiracy theories” following review by former Deputy Police Commissioner Dr Raymond Shuey, commissioned by Mr Meulemans’ lawyers.
Peter Meuleman, Ryan Meuleman’s father, said the report shed “a whole new light on what happened” to his son.
Peter said Dr Shuey’s report “contravenes the police report of what happened and contravenes Daniel and Catherine Andrews’ version of events”.
“We hope that Victoria Police will reopen the case and fully re-investigate it,” he previously told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
Although Peter said that “a lot of old wounds have mostly healed” in the 13 years since the accident, the family felt at the time that they “didn’t really get justice.”
Andrews Ford territory after accident with Ryan Meuleman
Ryan Meuleman spent 10 days in the hospital and suffered serious injuries in the accident
Following the accident, Mr Meuleman was airlifted to the Royal Children’s Hospital with life-threatening injuries, including a punctured lung, broken ribs, ruptured spleen and internal bleeding.
He lost 90 percent of his spleen, and his father said that while many of the other injuries had healed, the “most devastating and lasting effect” of the accident has been the “mental trauma.”
Andrews has always insisted his wife came to a complete stop and turned right from a stationary position moments before the teenager crashed into the Ford Territory.
In his 36-page assessment of the investigation, Dr Shuey found that the evidence did not support Mr and Mrs Andrews’ account of what happened.
Police closed the case without bringing charges, and the officers were later cleared of any wrongdoing by the corruption watchdog for failing to perform a breathalyzer test on the driver.
Meuleman is suing the law firm Slater & Gordon, which represented him after the accident, for allegedly failing to act in his best interests when negotiating an $80,000 compensation settlement with the Transportation Accident Commission.
Slater & Gordon denies the allegations and will defend the proceedings. The trial is scheduled for May 2025.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest any wrongdoing on the part of Mr or Mrs Andrews.