An elderly man has been sentenced after veering onto the wrong side of the road and colliding with a van in a tragic crash that claimed the life of a young boy.
Owen Lloyd Scriven was handed a 12-month good behaviour order in Muswellbrook Local Court last week after he pleaded guilty to three negligent driving charges.
Judge Kevin Hockey convicted Scriven and suspended his driver's licence for three years.
Scriven, then 85 years old, left home at Muswellbrook in his white Holden Barina to travel to Tamworth early in the morning on June 25, 2025.
Roadworks on the New England Highway, at Murulla near Burning Mountain, meant there were no line markings for about 200 metres before the crash site.
Scriven told police he was "blinded by the sun as he came up the hill" and reached for the visor to pull it down.
He veered onto the wrong side of the road and into the path of an oncoming van, which was headed towards Maitland with six people on board.
The two vehicles collided and the van rolled. Emergency services rushed to the scene just before 8am.
An 11-year-old boy travelling in the van tragically died from his injuries. Three teenagers suffered various injuries, from fractured bones to bruising.
A woman in the front seat was taken to John Hunter Hospital with leg injuries, while the driver broke multiple ribs.
Scriven suffered leg wounds, bruising, abrasions and fractures to his hand.
During the police investigation, a man travelling behind Scriven reported poor visibility from the rising sun.
An image taken after emergency services arrived, and included in court documents, showed the sun impacting vision.
Another witness travelling behind the van said the Holden Barina was "darting from side to side" before the collision.
Scriven was charged after a months-long investigation. He pleaded guilty in Newcastle Local Court to negligent driving occasioning death, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and negligent driving.
It came after prosecutors dropped two dangerous driving charges.
