The phone call that will forever play ‘in a loop in my mind’: Fatal hit-run case in court

2 hours ago 1

By Rex Martinich

December 12, 2025 — 5.43pm

Lauren Bennett received a late-night phone call from her mother more than 18 months ago.

Ryan Grafton was killed in the crash at Wacol last year.

It will forever play “in a loop in my mind”, she says.

“It was mum screaming ‘he’s dead’ over and over again.”

Her brother Ryan William Victor Grafton, 30, was killed instantly while taking an Uber in a May 28, 2024 crash caused by an intoxicated Kai Colin Matthew Fursey in a stolen car.

The Toyota Camry Grafton was travelling in was hit on its side after Fursey ran a red light at an intersection travelling 114km/h in a 70km/h zone at Wacol, in Brisbane’s south-west.

He was driving a stolen Ford Mondeo with false registration plates.

Another Uber passenger – Grafton’s 26-year-old friend Amelia Vinden – was taken to hospital in a critical condition with internal injuries while driver Hussein Ali Mohamed was knocked unconscious.

The scene of the Toyota Camry and Ford Mondeo crash in Wacol.

Bennett later received a call from her mother sharing the news that “destroyed” their family.

“I’ll never forget that phone call in the middle of the night that forever plays in a loop in my mind,” she told Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday.

In a devastating victim impact statement, Grafton’s mother told Fursey she would never forgive him.

“With your reckless disregard you took my boy away from me,” Kerryn Grafton said.

“Not only have you killed my son, you have destroyed the life of my family.”

Ms Grafton said carrying the burden of taking her son’s life would be a weight that never goes away for Fursey.

Kai Fursey handed himself in to Acacia Ridge police over the alleged hit-and-run.

“Hopefully that destroys you,” she said.

Bennett said she hoped for the longest sentence possible for Fursey but feared “you still get to live your life despite destroying ours”.

Fursey, 30, on Friday pleaded guilty to manslaughter and dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm before leaving the scene of an accident.

He also pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property, motor vehicle theft, and drug possession.

Fursey was intoxicated on drugs and made no attempt to brake before causing “carnage”, crown prosecutor Michael Gawrych told Justice Martin Burns.

“Data collected from the period before the airbag deployed demonstrated he applied the accelerator at 100 per cent force at 1.5 seconds before the impact,” he said.

Fursey fled the scene and handed himself in to police five days after the crash.

Fursey had co-operated with justice and brought the case to a sentence relatively swiftly, defence barrister Colin Reid said.

“He has some understanding of the enormity of what he has done,” Reid said.

“He still has a family to support him. When he is released, there is some hope for him.”

Fursey was remanded in custody after Justice Burns reserved his decision, with sentencing set for next Thursday.

AAP