Private paramedic collapses in court after Perth crash footage played

A Perth private paramedic collapsed in court after he was shown footage of a head-on crash he allegedly caused by driving on the wrong side of the road with unauthorised lights and sirens on his personal car.

Jack Dunn, 30, appeared in Joondalup Magistrates Court on Tuesday, charged with aggravated dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm, four counts of aggravated dangerous driving causing bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice over Sunday’s crash in Wanneroo.

The court heard Dunn was the managing director of Perth business Rescue Recovery 1 when the incident happened.

Rescue Recovery 1 describes itself as a “small, family-run company” that mainly provides event support, rather than as a dedicated triple-zero service, and was working an event in Jarrahdale when Dunn was called to help relieve some of his staff.

The court heard one of Dunn’s team members phoned him about midday on Sunday to let him know they were helping a patient who had suffered a cardiac arrest, and needed him to come take over managing the Jarrahdale event so they could take the patient to hospital.

Police alleged Dunn was in a Ford Everest he had recently fitted with lights and sirens, and activated them as he began driving along Franklin Road towards Jarrahdale.

Footage was played to the court of the crash, and showed the Ford Everest force other vehicles off the road as it overtook them.

Police said they believed Dunn had exceeded the speed limit by about 30 kilometres an hour, and the way he was driving and the lights and sirens had led the public to “form the belief Dunn was driving an authorised emergency vehicle”.

The footage showed the car continuously cross straight lines on the dual-lane carriageway, veering in front of cars at speed.

At one point, the Everest went onto the wrong side of the road to overtake a car, but due to a crest on the carriageway, it is alleged that Dunn did not see two other cars coming in the opposite direction.

Dunn veered to the side to avoid the Mazda, but crashed head-on with a Mercedes travelling in the opposite direction.

Five people were in the car at the time, and the court heard Dunn got out of the car and told the occupants he was an off-duty paramedic.

St John Ambulance arrived at the scene and treated those who had been in the Mercedes. The driver was taken to Royal Perth Hospital where it was found she had fractured ribs and suffered air pockets in her lungs from the crash.

Police said when they arrived at the scene they found a dashcam, but observed it had been removed from its mount and its memory card was missing.

The court heard Dunn later told them in hospital he did not know where the memory card was as it should have still been in the car. It was later located in his pants pocket.

Dunn allegedly argued he often took memory cards in his job to preserve them as evidence, and had panicked when asked by police where it had gone, but was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

In court on Tuesday, the police prosecutor said Dunn did not have the authority or training to drive his vehicle in emergency conditions, and wasn’t authorised to fit his vehicle with lights and sirens.

Police also alleged he did not have authority to have his lights and sirens on, and his Ford Everest did not display any signage that indicated it was an emergency vehicle. These assertions are not subject to any charges.

Dunn’s lawyer attempted to apply for bail for the paramedic, and said she had concerns about his mental health should he be remanded in custody.

During his court appearance, Dunn’s arm was bandaged, and he appeared to struggle as he was helped into the dock. When the footage of the crash was played to the court, he appeared to suffer a medical episode and there was a brief adjournment while his lawyer spoke to him.

She later told the court Dunn had a history of seizures and panic attacks, and he had suffered two seizures overnight while in custody.

Police opposed bail, and said there had been alerts on Dunn’s record previously for attempting to intervene in serious incidents.

The prosecutor told the court that, in June, police had been at an incident in Fremantle when a Rescue Recovery 1 vehicle came “driving at an unsafe speed” down an alley. Dunn attempted to help police, but he was told to leave, as a St John Ambulance had already been called.

Instead, Dunn allegedly went to a drunk woman and a friend who were waiting for an Uber and attempted to offer them first aid.

The prosecutor said they also had concerns Dunn would attempt to speak with potential witnesses in the case as he was their employer, and the way he had been driving had been especially concerning.

“As a serving police officer of 15 years, I wouldn’t drive like that,” she said.

Magistrate Andrew Maughan refused bail, and said it was likely Dunn could expect a term of immediate imprisonment.

“Given what I’ve seen in that footage he was driving in a way that can only be described as contemptuous of other road users,” he said.

“These charges are so serious and the evidence against the accused in my view is so strong.”

This masthead does not suggest any wrongdoing by Rescue Recovery 1, and the company was contacted for comment.

Dunn was remanded in custody and will appear in court again next month.