Luke Nardini: Narrogin man facing up to nine months jail under plea deal reached over fatal California crash

A West Australian who killed a couple in a head-on crash in the US is facing up to nine months in jail under a plea agreement reached with prosecutors. Luke Nardini, a speedway racer from Narrogin, pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanour vehicular manslaughter. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 25. Nardini, whose trial was due to start this week, accepted the plea agreement after lawyers met with Judge Jeffrey Jackson in a pre-trial chambers conference. The deadly accident in the mountainous hills south of San Francisco happened in September 2023 after Nardini crossed onto the wrong driving lane because of road construction, and collided headfirst into another vehicle. The back-seat passengers in the Ford SUV, Jack and Linda Davis, a Northern California couple in their 80s, died from their injuries. Two other people were also hurt. Investigators said speed and alcohol were not a factor in the accident. “This was always a tragic accident,” Nardini’s lawyer May Mar said. “There was no evidence of reckless driving. All the evidence supported the fact Luke was on the wrong side of the road. “But the evidence also showed this was not a malicious accident. It was always a sad and tragic accident.” Before his sentencing, Nardini has been ordered to meet with a probation officer as part of a pre-sentencing report. Nardini and relatives of the victims are expected to speak at the sentencing hearing.