Aussie Dad Lets Toddler Steer Car, Kills Six Teens
As busy as Trench is with CrimeNe.ws and The Trenchcoat Chronicles, I’m elated that he still looks out for the little guy. He sent me this tip today about 35-year-old Australian dad Thomas Graham Towle, who has turned being a destructive bastard into some sort of extreme sport. Towle, drunk and reaking of alcohol, went on a drive with his four-year-old son, even gracious letting the boy take the wheel for a while. Witnesses put the vehicle’s speed at up to 150 kph (about 93 miles per hour) when it careened into and killed six teenagers:
- Shane Hirst, 16
- Abby Hirst, 17
- Stevie-Lee Weight, 15
- Cory Dowling, 16
- Cassandra Manners, 16
- Josie Calvi, 16
Could it possibly get any worse? Well, I’m glad you asked. Because it can, indeed, get worse. Police have further accused Mr. Towle of running away from the scene and abandoned his own kids in the car. In other words, he fled and left his kids scared, alone, and confused, leaving them to cry as innocent teens died all around them. Mr. Towle’s lawyer Brendan Murphy - a.k.a. Satan’s Stooge - insists that his client first told a witness to call an ambulance before leaving. So, wait. You mean he didn’t flee the scene and abandon his kids. Towle asked a witness to do something the witness had probably concluded was a good idea anyway, given the number of dead people on the ground…and then Towle fled the scene and abandoned his kids? Well, shit, let’s pin a metal to his chest and give him the key to the city!
During a police interview, Towle reportedly acknowledged being drunk, but maintained that it had “no effect” on his driving. I know six sets of grieving parents who would take issue with that, sir. Enjoy the rest of your sorry-ass life being someone’s shower room butt-bitch, asshole.
Tags: Alcohol, Australia, drinking, driving, father, homicide, melbourne, red-cliffs, sonRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Uncategorized
10 opinions for Aussie Dad Lets Toddler Steer Car, Kills Six Teens
jen
Oct 18, 2006 at 5:44 pm
I think this was the one that happened about a year ago near Mildura. It was really shocking at the time and I remember thinking at the time that this guy must have been drunk to leave the scene and his kids in his car. I hadn’t heard anything about it since until I stumbled upon this. What a bastard.
Apparently after the ‘accident’ happened his family were threatened, and I vaguely remember reading that he wasn’t drunk at the time which was obviously a load of bullshit.
Trench
Oct 19, 2006 at 10:43 am
You’re being extremely modest calling yourself the little guy. :lol: As always thanks for the link.
The Zero Boss
Oct 19, 2006 at 4:28 pm
jen - yeah, no way. Either he was drunk, or he’d just been lobotomized.
Trench, it took me a year to even realize that what I was writing was a “true crime blog”. :-) The rest of y’all have been doing this much longer than me. Thanks again for the tip!
from mildura
Oct 22, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Before you make judgement on a situation that you obviously have no idea about. visit mildura. I am not defending mr towle’s actions, simply letting you know what sort of place this is and how it affects the media representation of this case.
We are a segregated community. In this place you are bought up to be what you are expected to be.
Mr Towle is a victim of his surroundings and a fool for making idiotic choices.
Mr towle is reported to have been travelling at speeds OF UP TO 150km an hour, which means he could have been doing anywhere from 50-150km an hour. The media also states that Mr Towle had been drinking ON THE DAY of the incident, not necessarily drunk at the time. As for Towle’s son being on his lap at the time of the crash, this is common place here. you learn to drive at an early age here. whether it be on your dads tractor or on a backroad (which is where the incident occurred)
Once again I repeat I am providing no defense, simply hoping you are smart enough to realise this incident was a horrifying accident and nothing more.
Towle will prosecuted by the justice system and society for the rest of his life. How about you write a story on the parents who have threatened the lives of his kids.
The Zero Boss
Oct 22, 2006 at 4:20 pm
“Mr Towle is a victim of his surroundings and a fool for making idiotic choices.”
Um, isn’t that what I said?
Some of what you say here flatly contradicts the prosecution’s story and courtroom testimony, which says that Towle let the boy steer and that he reaked of booze after the crash. And the MINIMUM speed given by crash experts is 120kph, or 72 miles per hour. Top that off with Towle fleeing the scene, and your attempt to mitigate this man’s actions fall flat.
Thanks for the info about Mildura, though. Hopefully you can be one of the educated ones to tell people that driving drunk at 72mph with kids on your laps is a dumb idea.
Father, Too Drunk to Drive, Lets Son Take Wheel - from Parents Behaving Badly by Jay Andrew Allen
Nov 5, 2006 at 8:11 pm
[…] You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your ownsite. […]
Anonymous
Nov 7, 2006 at 7:47 pm
I am directly related to one of these victims and it is a very sad tragedy. I donnot believe that anger and rsentment will bring our children back.
They say resentment is like drinking a bottle of poisen yourself and hoping for the person you hate to die.
I believe prevention is the key. I am grateful that you have this web site as it may prevent other drink drivers. But lets not be judges as we were not at the incident and we may never know all the facts.
Most offenders do come from unfortunate circumstances and in this case the offender has suffered the saddest rock bottom of them all. He does show remorse and let’s hope that he has sunk far enough into his hole that he is able to change his pattern of life.
Let’s not spread hate. Let’s have forgiveness.
What we can change is the way we communicate amongst our family. Are we good examples to our dependants? Families with good role models do not usually grow to be offenders.
Mother Taresa says “families that pray together stay together”.
Also from Mildura
Dec 20, 2006 at 10:57 pm
from mildura - to hear what you said makes me feel phisically ill. I knew all 6 kids and it was an accident…… but one that could’ve been prevented. Lets Look at the facts
-Mr Towle was a Methadone patient who missed his doses in the days leading up to the accident.
- Police clearly state that once mr towle was found roughly an hour later..he reeked of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes.
- the car was going at at least 120km
- His son WAS driving
- He fled and not only left behind 6 critically injured and dying teens but also about 5 others injured and also his own kids scared in the car.
-Yes here in the country we do learn to drive at a young age, but not at 120 km an when your dad is drunk.
- A friend of mine drove past minutes before an heard and saw towle driving at an excessive speed.
- And the biggest fact yet……. Josie, Abby, Shane, Cory, Stevie and Cass had their whole lives ahead of them and now its gone beacause of one persons stupidity and lack of responsibility.
He took their beautifull young lives and now in return he should serve his in jail.
Jamie Marie Rosen Accused of Sipping Vodka from Water Bottle while Driving with Kids - from Parents Behaving Badly by Jay Andrew Allen
Dec 27, 2006 at 1:26 pm
[…] Good luck, Miss Rosen. Make sure to drop to your knees and thank the Deity of your choice that you didn’t kill anybody - yourself and your kids included. You could have easily ended up sharing some of the ignominy that belongs to Thomas Graham Towle, the Australian dad whose drunk driving cost six teens their lives. There but for the grace of God go you. […]
Jim
May 12, 2007 at 2:17 am
Zero Boss,
YOU’RE an asshole for advocating crime (”butt-bitch”) when you say you want to fight it.
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