Coroner says missed alerts let vision-impaired driver cause fatal Adelaide crash
A coroner concluded that Tristan Mourant, who ignored medical advice not to drive, caused a 2022 collision that killed Sohaila Mohammadi after doctors failed to report his vision disorder.
During a recent inquest, the coroner found that Tristan Mourant, despite being diagnosed with bilateral retinal dystrophy, concealed his condition and claimed he had no medical impediment when renewing his licence in May 2021. Three physicians had warned him against driving but did not inform the Register of Motor Vehicles, breaching the Motor Vehicles Act 1959. On 21 January 2022, Mourant collided with a van on Main North Road at Elizabeth, causing the vehicle to overturn, hit a pole and a tree, and catch fire, which quickly engulfed the van and killed front-passenger Sohaila Mohammadi, 47, of Blair Athol.
Her husband, Noor Ahmad, survived with injuries but could not have prevented the fatal outcome. Mourant pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced in October 2024 to just over seven years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years, eight months and 13 days, and a 20-year licence ban. The coroner recommended that the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and SA Health issue mandatory reminders to medical staff about their duty to report unsafe drivers.
Why it matters
It highlights failures in medical reporting that allowed a vision-impaired driver to remain on the road, leading to a preventable death.
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