Marcus Hargrave admits killing Michael Ryan after 90 km/h burnout led to fatal crash

Two young men were partying together on the Snowy Monaro before one killed the other in a fatal crash, then left him behind while fleeing the scene without stopping to call for help.

Marcus William Hargrave, 24, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Queanbeyan Local Court on Monday (2 September) after causing the death of 25-year-old Michael ‘Smiley’ Ryan.

The pair had been drinking alcohol and partying together at two homes around Cooma on the night of 18 November 2023, agreed facts of the case say.

It was getting close to midnight when they jumped into an uninsured and unregistered 2003 Ford Falcon, which had previously been registered to Hargrave, with the soon-to-be killer at the wheel and his victim in the front passenger seat.

Hargrave drove onto Vulcan Street and, while driving at 90 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, performed a 70-metre-long burnout. The car then left the road, crashed heavily into a tree, and came to a rest back on the street.

Mr Ryan wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and hit his head on the windscreen, receiving fatal injuries.

Hargrave then got out of the car and ran from the scene without helping his friend or contacting emergency services.

He ran back to one of the parties and yelled, “I think I killed Smiley”.

Hargrave, who had his own injuries from the crash, then called one of his friends over the social media app Snapchat.

“I got into a car accident. I need your help. I think I killed someone. I’ll pay you lots of money to take me to Canberra,” he said.

The friend refused, also refusing to take him to hospital, so Hargrave called another friend who agreed to drive to pick him up.

“I killed him. I was trying to do something really f-ing dumb in the car,” he said after getting into this friend’s car.

“I was in first gear, at least doing 90 km/h, coming out of my street doing a fishy and I f-ed up and killed him.”

While he was originally driven back to a house, he started coughing up blood so asked to be driven to the Canberra Hospital.

“I hate myself. I wish I never walked away,” he said during the drive.

“Can you just say that I was out on a property at Googong?”

Mr Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, who arrived because a neighbour called for help after hearing the crash.

Police soon learned Hargrave had arrived at the Canberra Hospital claiming he had been in a “farming accident”. Officers took him into custody at the hospital, before he admitted to police that he enjoyed performing burnouts.

He also returned a blood ethyl alcohol concentration of 0.127 grams per 100 milliliters of blood.

Police found no evidence of braking before the crash, with the burnout marks going directly to the tree.

“The crash damage exhibited to the vehicle was extensive,” the facts say.

Hargrave had previously disconnected the rear braking system of the car, so that pressing the foot brake didn’t activate the rear brakes.

“The disabling of the rear braking system is common in vehicles used for burnouts,” the facts also say.

In addition, police learned Hargrave’s driver’s licence had been disqualified until June 2024 as he had performed a burnout in Cooma in February 2023.

Hargrave, who is from the Snowy-Monaro town of Berridale, was extradited from the ACT in November 2023 and has been refused bail.

He has been committed to the NSW District Court for sentencing on 4 November.