Former Geelong player Ray Card pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of culpable driving causing the death of his wife, Amanda McDonald, during a car accident following a wedding in Lara on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
The County Court of Victoria heard that Card, 68, had a blood alcohol reading of 0.226 following the crash.
Card had also pleaded guilty to a second charge of causing serious injury to a 19-year-old woman, who had been in a separate car travelling in the other direction at the time the incident occurred.
The court heard that Card and McDonald, who was described as the ‘love of his life’, had been drinking before leaving the wedding to drive home in the former footballer’s Ford Ranger.
The pair had stopped at a restaurant before driving onto the Ring Road heading towards Bacchus Marsh Road. They went around a bend and saw headlights coming towards them, with Card braking before swerving right across the road into the opposite lane.
Both cars collided on their passenger sides, and McDonald was killed in the crash.
Ray Card has pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable driving causing the death of his wife, Amanda McDonald (pictured together)
Card (pictured) also pleaded guilty to a second charge of causing serious injury to a 19-year-old woman, who had to be airlifted to hospital
The 19-year-old woman, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the other car, a BWM, was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital and later underwent multiple surgeries.
On Monday, Card’s barrister, Geoff Steward, also told the court that the body camera footage captured following the accident showed the former AFL player’s ‘Gut-wrenching, life-changing, grief-stricken remorse’.
‘It’s hard to watch, his despair, his grief,’ Steward said.
He then pointed to how Card’s immediate concern was for his wife and not himself.
The former Geelong player had also shown his remorse to the 19-year-old woman who was injured in the crash, writing her a letter to apologise.
He had also asked for his own bail to be revoked.
McDonald’s family had also been forgiving of Card, with Steward calling their statement an ‘extraordinary’ display of support.
Steward noted one of McDonald’s daughters said that Card ‘always will be a part of this family.’
Card made 110 appearances for Geelong between 1977 and 1987 before stepping into coaching
Body camera footage showed Card’s ‘Gut-wrenching, life-changing, grief-stricken remorse’ in the aftermath of the incident
In total, 14 character references were given by the defence. Former Geelong captain Damien Bourke was among those who appeared in court.
Bourke said: ‘Ray’s always been one to give himself, rather than take anything.’
Crown Prosecutor Jordan Johnson also read victim impact statements to the court.
In one statement, the parents of the 19-year-old, who was airlifted to hospital following the incident, expressed their terror after finding out about the crash and had driven to the site of the incident, before heading to the Geelong hospital and then The Alfred, searching for their daughter.
They added that she had suffered ‘terrible stress’ during her long and slow recovery.
The woman has suffered from PTSD as a result and had spent her 20th birthday, Christmas and New Year in a wheelchair. She has also suffered from concussion symptoms and pain.
‘It breaks my heart to see her suffer like this,’ her mother wrote.
Card made 110 appearances for Geelong between 1977 and 1987.
After retiring from football, he would later go on to coach several sides, including Wangaratta and Milawa.
