Two men involved in a fatal crash were about to put their dirt bikes in a shed in the lead up to the incident, but instead made the fatal decision to go for a ride around town.
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Howlong man Phillip Franks has been found not guilty of causing the death of Billy Bolton outside his home in 2018.
Franks had a blood alcohol reading of 0.160 when he turned into his driveway on July 19, 2018.Mr Bolton, who had no helmet or lights, and had a alcohol reading of 0.225, hit Franks' Nissan Navara.
He was catapulted over the vehicle after hitting his head on the windscreen and died at the scene.
Franks was assaulted twice by the late man's friend Harley Turner, and Turner took his vehicle.
A witness said a woman at the scene was "screaming hysterically" as Franks was attacked, and he was left with blood coming out of his mouth and his eyes were rolling back in his head.
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Judge Sean Grant said there was no causal connection between Franks' blood alcohol reading and Mr Bolton's death.
"This is a tragic case," he said.
"A young man has died.
"There are many who grieve and mourn his life."
Judge Grant opened his remarks in the District Court on Monday by painting a picture of the scene.
"It was a cold, dark moonless night with intermittent rain," he said.
"A tragedy was about to unfold which would change lives forever."
Mr Bolton had been riding at 67km/h before the crash, and had a dark hoodie and jeans.
He had no lights or safety equipment and the impact split his KTM dirt bike in half, flinging him up to 26 metres.
While the judge said it was a tragedy, he said Franks would not have been able to see the oncoming riders and there was an absence of a causal connection between his alcohol reading and the crash.
It was likely no driver would have seen the dirt bike riders, he said.
"It will no doubt play on his mind forever," Mr Grant said of Franks.
The accused man told police he didn't know what was going on until after the crash.
"I just went to turn into my driveway, then 'crash'," he said on the night.
"Just happened real quick."
Two crash experts said the riders would not have been visible.
The court heard Franks had PTSD following the incident and was respected in the Howlong community, working in the town as a plumber.
He did not react when the not guilty verdict was handed down, but three woman in court started crying.
He was fined $1000 for high range drink driving and will have an alcohol interlock for two years.
He hasn't driven since December 31, 2018.
