Alleged Lamborghini crash driver faces court

Bryce Dridan, 28, sat in the dock at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Tuesday as he applied for bail, appearing emotional and shaking his head throughout the proceedings.

Dridan stands charged of dangerous driving causing death for his alleged role in the death of an 18-year-old at a Stawell burnout event in November 2023.

He also faced further dangerous driving charges after allegedly crashing a Lamborghini sports car into a garage in Mitchell Park, as well as several other alleged driving offences prior.

The court heard from Major Collision Investigator detective senior constable Melanie MacFarlane, who had attended the Stawell Race Track following the 18-year-old's death.

Major Collision investigators alleged Dridan breached multiple rules prior to his participation in the Stawell Loosenats events in September 2023.

Police alleged Dridan had showed up late to the event and did not register with the event's organisers or sign a waiver required by all drivers.

He had also allegedly breached the event's rules by taking his young daughter onto the burnout pad in the passenger seat of his car.

It was alleged Dridan brought a "heavily modified" 2001 Holden Commodore onto the burnout pad and started to perform burnouts, before abruptly leaving the pad before his allocated time had finished.

From there, police alleged Dridan took the car off the pad, past multiple protective stacks of tyre barriers and past a fire marshal area, running over the foot of a fire marshal.

Detective MacFarlane said Dridan then took the out-of-control car into a food court area at the race track, where he collided with an 18-year-old attendee.

A mechanical report made put together after the collision found the forces on the car during the burnout made the car's brake line fail.

Unable to stop, Detective MacFarlane said Dridan passed by several safety measures at the event, such as a tow truck and tyre barriers, and dangerously drove it into a crowded area and into the 18-year-old.

Witnesses at the scene told police "the front just skidded, the car went straight towards us in a straight line. It is like he lined (the 18-year-old) up and went in a straight line".

After the Stawell Race Track death, Dridan's licence was suspended pending a medical assessment.

Between the day of the fatal crash and Dridan's arrest, police alleged he had been pulled over several times driving with a suspended licence around Ballarat, in once instance allegedly testing positive for drug driving.

Police alleged Dridan returned a positive drug test after crashing his white Lamborghini into a house on Learmonth Road in Mitchell Park on May 3.

Video taken of the Lamborghini allegedly showed Dridan purposefully losing traction of the car near the Learmonth and Ring Road intersection, before fully losing control.

Detective MacFarlane said Dridan refused a follow-up test after the crash.

Dridan's lawyer Alex Patton proposed to have him bailed to his parent's residence, where he would work on their 700-acre farm properties in Mitchell Park and Cambrian Hill.

Mr Patton called Dridan's mother as a witness to give evidence about Dridan's descent into drug addiction following the suicide of a close friend in 2019.

The court was told Dridan was "pushed off the road" while riding his motorcycle since then, where he suffered a serious injury to his leg.

Mr Dridan's mother also told the court Dridan's mechanic business had folded since the Lamborghini crash. Dridan was of "no fixed address" when he was arrested, as he was unable to make mortgage payments on his home.

Mr Patton said the police's case had "triable issues" - such as the adequacy of safety measures at the Stawell Race Track, and the role the mechanics of the car had played in the fatal crash.

The lawyer said Dridan was also "vulnerable" considering his mental health issues, and that treatment would be available from his family GP if released.

Magistrate Guillaume Bailin denied Dridan bail, and said he posed too great of a risk of getting behind the wheel if released.

"After the most serious matter, Mr Dridan was not immediately apprehended... the court and the community have had an opportunity to observe how Mr Dridan chooses to conduct himself in the community," the magistrate said.

"He has put people at risk again and again and again, that one person has allegedly died of his actions, and a family home has been seriously damaged.

"I have no confidence that Mr Dridan will comply with his conditions of bail."

The court heard police were waiting on a drug impairment report, vehicle scrutineers report and witness statements before considering whether to upgrade the dangerous driving charge to culpable driving.

Police will require the usual six weeks to provide a brief of evidence to Dridan's defence, the court was told.

The matter will return to court on August 1.