Trent Evans

2022 - 7 - 21

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Age"

Former TV reporter Trent Evans jailed over car crash that killed friend (The Age)

A former television reporter who became homeless and dependent on drugs and alcohol after a mental breakdown has been jailed for almost eight years after ...

He had past speeding offences dating back to 1995 and three drink-driving convictions between 2003 and 2005, one of which nearly landed him in jail. Police believe Evans was driving at 112km/h – almost double the speed limit – and he later recorded a blood-alcohol reading of 0.1, the County Court heard. Evans, 45, was on Thursday jailed for seven years and 10 months after pleading guilty to culpable driving causing death.

Former TV reporter Trent Evans jailed for causing friend's death in a ... (9News)

A former television reporter who caused the death of his friend in a drunken high-speed crash has been jailed.

"As a consequence of your level of intoxication, you were incapable of exercising proper control over the car that you were driving," he told the court. Evans was double the legal blood alcohol limit when he lost control of Willox's Mercedes in the suburb of Burnley in inner Melbourne, while Willox was in the front passenger seat. The former Channel 7 journalist had previously admitted to causing the death of his friend Rex Willox in February 2021,pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing deathbefore the court a fortnight ago.

Channel Seven reporter Trent Evans jailed for at least five years in ... (Daily Mail)

A former television reporter who killed his mate after bingeing on champagne and then driving will spend at least five years behind bars.

Evans failed to remove this insensitive image from his Instagram account. The court heard Evans had no chance of making the bend in the road where he lost control and slammed his mate's car into a pole. The court heard he and Mr Willox had downed three bottles of champagne together at Mr Willox's Toorak apartment that morning before Evans agreed to drive because he said he was the less drunk of the pair. The court heard Evans had been drunk after guzzling champagne on the morning of the crash. He had been binging on champagne on the very morning he killed his mate - Evans had a blood alcohol reading of 0.1 – twice the legal limit – when he drove

Former journalist Trent Evans jailed over fatal crash in Melbourne's ... (ABC News)

Trent Evans was jailed for a minimum of five years over a car crash in Burnley, in Melbourne's inner-east, which killed his friend Rex Willox in 2021.

The court heard that Evans has written a letter of apology to Mr Willox's family. At the time of the crash, he was living at a motel in Parkville. "You told those who attended and repeated to the police that you had been drinking and that you were the driver of the car," the judge said. The County Court heard that Evans previously worked as a journalist for several newsrooms around the country including for the Herald Sun and the Seven Network. The County Court heard that Evans had been abstaining from alcohol and the glasses of champagne he consumed before the crash were his first drinks in three years. - The County Court heard Evans was twice the legal blood alcohol limit and speeding when the crash happened

TV reporter jailed for killing mate in crash (NEWS.com.au)

An award-winning journalist who killed his friend in a drunken high-speed crash has been handed a hefty prison sentence.

But in 2016 the court heard that Evans succumbed to the pressures of his job and checked himself into a country hospital, in what Mr Lyons described as a “mental health crisis” that for a short time left him unable to speak. Evans, who told police he was the “more sober of the two,” was driving at 112 km/h on Barkley St, Burnley, at more than double the legal limit when he failed to navigate a bend in the road. The “very grave offence,” in the words of Mr Lyon, began when Evans arrived at Mr Willox’s Toorak home, where the pair began to drink multiple bottles of champagne.

Former television reporter jailed for more than seven years over fatal ... (The Guardian)

Trent Evans had pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death, after he lost control of his friend's car last year.

He began to have difficulty with his speech, became paranoid and was treated in hospital for two weeks. He returned to Victoria and tried to continue working as a journalist, but could not cope with the demands of the job, the court heard. “As a consequence of your level of intoxication, you were incapable of exercising proper control over the car that you were driving,” Lyon said when handing down his sentence.