The parents of a 22-year-old motorcyclist who was killed in an accident with an elderly driver now have to deal with him appealing his licence suspension in court.
Sue and Gary Jenkins, from Tweed Heads in the far north of New South Wales, lost their only-surviving son Dann in October 2016 when 87-year-old driver Edwin Jessop made a tragic error.
The horror crash occurred almost 24 years after the grieving parents had lost a baby son, who drowned at the beach on Christmas Day.
The parents of a 22-year-old motorcyclist (Dann Jenkins pictured) who was accidentally killed by an elderly driver now have to deal with him appealing his licence suspension in court
Sue and Gary Jenkins, from Tweed Heads in the far north of New South Wales, lost their only-surviving son Dann in October 2016 when he has run over by 87-year-old driver Edwin Jessop
Their grief at losing a second son became even more difficult in December last year when Edwin Jessop (pictured) was given a nine-month suspended jail sentence
Their grief at losing a second son became even more difficult in December last year when Edwin Jessop was given a nine-month suspended jail sentence for causing the accident that killed Dann when he failed to see the motorcyclist as he turned his Toyota Hilux ute into an intersection.
The elderly man also had his driver’s licence disqualified for three years but on Tuesday, he is appearing in Lismore Local Court in a bid to be allowed back on the road again.
‘Mr Jessop wants his licence back. He says nine-month suspended jail sentence, three years suspension of his driver’s licence for killing my son is too harsh a sentence,’ Sue Jenkins told Daily Mail Australia.
For Sue Jenkins, 57, that shows a lack of remorse.
‘He offered no assistance, he has never offered us an apology, he just keeps dragging us into court all the time. I am so angry. I’m really angry.’
Dann Jenkins was riding south with friends on Numbinbah Road at Chillingham, in northern NSW, in 2016 when Edwin Jessop failed to him, despite his headlights being on
Dann Jenkins’ grieving 57-year-old mother Sue, who was a professional investor, and her 66-year-old husband Gary, a butcher, are no longer able to work
Edwin Jessop’s solicitor Tracey Randall declined to comment to Daily Mail Australia on Friday.
Dann Jenkins was riding south with friends on Numbinbah Road at Chillingham, in northern NSW, on October 24, 2016 when Edwin Jessop failed to see the motorcyclist, despite his headlights being on.
It was 10 in the morning when the elderly Toyota Hilux driver, travelling in the opposite direction to the riders, turned right into Couchy Creek Road, where he lived in the Tweed Valley hinterland.
The resident of nearby Numinbah pulled right out in front of the 22-year-old rider, causing the Jenkins family to lose their second child.
Dann Jenkins’ grieving 57-year-old mother Sue, who was a professional investor, and her 66-year-old husband Gary, a butcher, are no longer able to work.
The mother who has lost two sons and needs medication to sleep fears Edwin Jessop will cause another accident if a magistrate allows him on the road again.
It was 10 in the morning when the elderly Toyota Hilux driver, travelling in the opposite direction to the riders, turned right into Couchy Creek Road where he lived
‘He will. It’s only a matter of time,’ Sue Jenkins said.
The deceased motorbike rider’s parents are campaigning to have all drivers, aged 75 and over, face compulsory annual driving test and an emergency computer simulation to assess their response times.
NSW is the only state that requires drivers aged 85 and over to sit a bi-annual practical driving test
The Jenkins have started a change.org petition calling on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his deputy, Transport Minister Michael McCormack, to introduce uniform national laws for elderly drivers.
‘I am disgusted. They have not responded in kind,’ Mrs Jenkins.
‘They do not want to address this deadly, growing problem on our roads.
‘Why is the Australian government so backward thinking?’
Mrs Jenkins has likened the pensioners’ lobby to the American National Rifle Association.
The deceased motorbike rider’s parents are campaigning to have all drivers, aged 75 and over, face compulsory annual driving test and an emergency computer simulation
‘The Australian government is run by the pensioners’ lobby group as the American government is run by the gun lobby group,’ she believed.
‘Innocent lives are lost everyday because the government won’t take action on these two radical lobby groups.’
However National Seniors Australia spokeswoman Lynda Schekoske said older drivers were safer because of experience and caused fewer fatal and series accidents than motorists under 21.
‘It doesn’t take away from the tragedy in these types of situations,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Michael McCormack’s office for comment.
The Jenkins have started a change.org petition calling on the Turnbull Government to introduce national laws on elderly drivers after Edwin Jessop, 87, caused the accidental fatality
Sue and Gary Jenkins, from Tweed Heads in the far north of New South Wales, lost their only-surviving son Dann in October 2016