Husband charged after wife’s tragic golf cart death on Hamilton Island
<p>A husband charged with the death of his wife has shared her chilling last words before she tragically died in a golf cart crash on their honeymoon. </p>
<p>Robbie Awad, 32, and his new wife Marina Hanna, 29, were honeymooning in Queensland's Hamilton Island just 10 days after their wedding in June 2022, when the golf cart they were travelling in tipped over. </p>
<p>Ms Hana died at the scene after doing into cardiac arrest.</p>
<p>Ms Awad, who was driving the golf cart when it crashed and walked away uninjured, has pleaded guilty to three charges including not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile phone while driving.</p>
<p>Appearing in court on Thursday for the first day of his hearing, he pleaded not guilty to the charge of driving without due care and attention causing death. </p>
<p>Taking to the witness stand, Mr Awad said the couple had decided to leave the resort to get something to eat before the crash. </p>
<p>“We were leaving Qualia [resort] in the buggy, I was driving, I drove toward the exit of Qualia, I waited for the [gates] to open. We drove out of the gates at 5 or 4 km/h,” he said.</p>
<p>The 32-year-old told the court that at the time of the crash, he was using his phone to follow directions, even though his wife warned him not to look at his phone while driving. </p>
<p>“I was looking for directions on how to travel to the marina.”</p>
<p>“My wife said, ‘Get off your phone’. I said, ‘What is the worst that could happen? No worries,’ and I put the phone in my pocket.’”</p>
<p>Mr Awad said the couple decided to travel back to their resort after noting that the golf cart wasn't working properly, as it started to slow down when it began travelling up a hill. </p>
<p>“I would estimate it was travelling less than walking speed. A very slow walk,” he said.</p>
<p>“’By the time I got to the top of the hill, it was barely moving.”</p>
<p>“[Once I got to the intersection] I could see it was very steep and I couldn’t see around the bend. I looked straight and saw there were no cars, the buggy was moving one metre every two seconds, so I drove the buggy into the flattest part.”</p>
<p>He claimed the buggy accelerated unexpectedly, as he was making the U-turn. </p>
<p>“As I was accelerating, I was moving the steering wheel, but because the buggy wasn’t moving, I ended up doing full turns, then I heard ‘vrrrroom’ and the buggy accelerated very quickly,” he said.</p>
<p>“I started to have the thought, ‘Oh, the buggy might tip over,’ but by the time I could have finished the thought, it had already tipped over.”</p>
<p>Mr Awad’s defence lawyer argued the “tragic accident” was caused by an issue with the battery in the golf buggy. </p>
<p>“It fell over and killed his poor wife and he was devastated — and still is,” he said.</p>
<p><em>Image credits: Facebook</em></p>
