Jordan Kenyon, who was 29 at his last court appearance, admits to the crash that killed 12-year-old Mia Rossiter at Stonehaven near Geelong in January 2024. He faces 24 charges including culpable driving causing death, counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury, drug-driving offences, and breaching parole.
Kenyon's white Holden Berlina collided head-on with a Red Barina on the Hamilton Highway late on Wednesday night. Mia Rossiter died in the crash, her 7-year-old sister Willow was critically injured, and their parents Paul and Danica Rossiter were also hospitalised.
Witnesses told police they saw what they believed to be Kenyon's car performing burnouts and travelling well in excess of the speed limit prior to the head-on collision. Police released dashcam vision of a Holden Berlina driving erratically earlier in the day, and received other reports of it being seen hooning.
Culpable driving causing death carries a 20-year maximum sentence if convicted. The nature of Kenyon's admission and how it will affect the trajectory of his case through the courts remains to be seen as the legal process continues.
Mia's father Paul Rossiter was injured in the crash and requires a crutch to support his movement. The family has closed its cafe because of the mental and physical burdens from the tragedy. Rossiter told the court he had never experienced mental health issues before the crash but is now doing so.
The admission comes more than a year after the fatal collision. A large contingent of the Rossiter family, frustrated at delays to Kenyon's legal representation, were cautioned in court in May for blurting obscenities at the defendant. The family has made numerous trips to Geelong for court appearances, marking each small procedural step as progress in a case that has consumed their lives since January.
That Kenyon admits to responsibility in the collision offers some acknowledgment to the family's suffering, though it cannot restore what was lost. A detective said the crash was "an entirely preventable tragedy that has torn a family apart; it's the type of collision that infuriates us." The case raises difficult questions about repeat offenders, road safety, and the systems meant to protect the public from drivers who have demonstrated a pattern of dangerous behaviour.