A beloved Melbourne grandmother was waiting for a bus as she set off for a routine trip to the shops when a car lost control and ploughed into her.
The unsupervised L-plate driver killed Deer Park grandmother Georgina Serbec. The female driver lost control during an U-turn, mounted the kerb and crashed into the bus shelter in February 2016.
Just ten days before the crash the then 55-year-old female – who cannot be named for legal reasons – failed her driving test for her P-plates.
Now a coroner is probing how the L-plater behind the wheel was able to get her permit when testing showed she had the mental age of a five-year-old child, had limited English and was illiterate in “all languages”.
The death has devastated their family and her children – Tanya, Katarina and Pete – want answers.
They said she was “loved by everyone” and became best friends with fish and chip shop owners and was popular with bus drivers and shopkeepers she met.
They want to know how the learner driver was allowed to get behind the wheel by herself, how a woman with “profound” disabilities successfully passed any tests and if it was really her who completed them.
The inquest which started this week heard from witnesses including Department of Transport employee, a translator and the police investigator.
During the hearing it was revealed the driver could not distinguish between money either using numbers or colours, was illiterate in “all languages” and cognitive tests showed her mental age was of a three to five year old.
The woman also couldn’t give the police at the scene her address but acknowledged she shouldn’t be driving alone, the coroner was told.
When the L-plater failed her probationary licence the tester said they were “scared” of her driving, according to court documents.
“I was that scared with her driving that I had to raise my voice to her to get her to listen,” the tester said in the document.
“She has no awareness of her surroundings, that being people or cars. She is a very erratic driver. The tester also said the woman failed to recognise road markings or road signs.
Department of Transport director of registration and licensing Jacqui Sampson was quizzed about whether someone else could have sat the tests, how she pasxjmtzywsed eye tests and how interpreters were used in these exams.
She told the court adequate processes were followed and there were appropriate checks to ensure the correct person sat the test.
In a statement tendered to the court the director said the department had “reservations” about multiple medical reports about the woman’s cognitive ability and said low IQ is not a barrier to a person getting a licence.
The impact of neurological conditions should be individually, she wrote in the statement.
She also challenged the assessments in relation to the woman’s eye test where she would have to read out letters of the alphabet despite her illiteracy to pass but said there was “no evidence to suggest she hasn’t completed the test correctly”.
The transport boss also said there were obligations on the family to discuss the woman’s ability to get behind the wheel.
“If the family members are giving testimony about the challenges the mother has in navigating everyday life then I … question their role and responsibility from a road safety perspective … as to why they would be encouraging their mother to get a licence in the first place,” Ms Sampson said.
The director was also questioned about whether she was concerned the driver failed her first hazard perception test with a score of just seven out of 28.
“We do have a number of really competent drivers still failing their hazard perception test the first time,” she said.
But Ms Serbec’s family have also been disappointed at how long the process took.
The hearing is expected to resume in four weeks so two more staff members present when the woman passed eye tests to give evidence.
