Warning: this article contains the name and image of an Aboriginal person who has died.
Harrowing footage has been aired in court of the moment a Dunghutti teenager riding a trail bike crashed into a police vehicle.
Sergeant Benedict Bryant, 47, was behind the wheel when Jai Kalani Wright rode the motorbike into his unmarked police vehicle in inner-city Sydney on February 19, 2022.
The 16-year-old was thrown off his bike and suffered critical head injuries, dying at Prince Alfred Hospital the following day.
The sergeant has pleaded not guilty to a charge of dangerous driving occasioning death and faced Darlinghurst District Court on Monday for the first day of his judge-alone trial.
Bryant had been alerted to a teen riding an allegedly stolen trail bike through the streets of Eveleigh and was instructed not to pursue him, crown prosecutor Philip Strickland SC told the court.
The court heard the teen had been seen swerving in front of a police car, accelerating loudly as he veered into a bike lane.
Benedict Bryant (left) and his lawyer Paul McGirr are seen during a break at the Downing Centre District Court Darlinghurst, Sydney, Monday, August 25, 2025. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi/AAP Image
The prosecution allege that Bryant had crossed the intersection to turn right and stopped near the end of the bike lane without his lights or sirens activated when the teen hit his car.
The court was shown confronting surveillance footage of Jai hitting the windscreen and landing on the ground 15 metres away.
Jai's family and friends - many wearing T-shirts with his image - packed the courtroom, spilling out of the public gallery and into seats normally reserved for jury members.
There is no jury as it is a judge alone trial.
Some of them left the courtroom when the footage of the collision was played.
Others were seen wiping away tears.
Family, friends and supporters of Jai Wright. Credit: Bianca De Marchi/AAP Image
The prosecution argued the sergeant effectively created a roadblock without authorisation or reasonable grounds and ought to have known that a resulting "collision would potentially be catastrophic", Mr Strickland said.
"As an experienced police officer with some 20 years of experience, the accused ought to have been aware of the potential danger," Mr Strickland asserted.
The police sergeant's barrister told the court the roadblock had been created by another officer, also in an unmarked car, forcing Jai to manoeuvre around him and into a vehicle he didn't see.
"It created a situation where my client was unaware anyone could even come through (from the bike lane)," Brent Haverfield told the court.
Bryant was very familiar with the area and thought Jai would have to divert his path because of the way the bike lane ended, his lawyer said.
Bryant remains employed by the NSW Police Force.
The trial continues
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