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Benjamin Watts was set to be considered for parole when he crashed a buggy inside Darwin prison. Now the NT coroner is calling for safety upgrades.
Print text only Cancel Fellow prisoners have told an inquest of the moments they tried to save a man who died in an off-road buggy incident while working at the Darwin prison. Key points: The inquest heard he was not wearing a helmet or seat belt Mr Watts was due to begin work in the community three days later Benjamin Watts, 31, died when the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) he was driving at the horticultural section of the Darwin prison crashed and landed on top of him. A coronial inquest into his death heard Mr Watts was "skilful", "reliable" and "absolutely excellent" at his work in the horti...
Offbeat by Jason Walls Premium Content Subscriber only A man who went "from villain to hero" after stealing a marmoset and saltwater crocodile before thwarting a plot to blow up a service station was not wearing a helmet or seatbelt when he was killed in an ATV crash at Holtze Prison last year, a court has heard. Deputy Coroner Kelvin Currie told an inquest into Benny Watts' death the 31-year-old former construction worker was serving time for drug and weapons offences and working as a foreman in the prison's horticulture section when he crashed the vehicl...