'Sting in the tail' looms as Ezra Mam's Broncos career put on life support
Updated . First published at
Canberra lawyer Tom Taylor has warned that Brisbane Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam could be facing up to 14 years in prison following his involvement in a two-car crash on Friday afternoon.
Mam was driving on Simpson Road in Bardon, Brisbane when his Ford Ranger collided head-on with a Toyota Camry which was being used as an Uber.
The 21-year-old was allegedly driving unlicensed and subsequently failed a roadside drug test.
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Ezra Mam in action for the Broncos. AP
Mam is entitled to the presumption of innocence and has not been arrested or charged, but speaking to Nine's Today, Taylor stressed the "serious allegations" levelled at him.
"The precise nature of the charges will really depend on the evidence that's gathered as part of this investigation," he said.
"There's a bit of public information that's known about it at this stage but there's still a way to go.
"Types of charges and the consequences that will flow from those charges will really depend on the evidence that's gathered."
Queensland Police alleged that Mam was driving unlicensed at the time of the incident and returned a positive result to a roadside drug test.
Results of further testing could take several weeks to come back.
"The two bigger charges really are the charges that relate to the drug in his system — if it is that the blood sample that was taken at the hospital confirms the presence of a drug in his system," Taylor said.
"They usually take a week or two to turn around.
"What we do know is that the roadside test is an indicator of the presence of a drug in the saliva.
"Those tests will only indicate four types of drugs: cocaine, cannabis, MDMA and methamphetamine, otherwise known as ice. But they can be unreliable so the best test will be the blood tests to confirm the presence of a drug and also the quantity of the drug which will determine through some expert opinion, how adversely affected he may have been if the drug was in his system."
He added that "the manner of driving," would also be important to the police case.
There were three passengers in the Toyota Camry, including a school-aged child.
All three were taken to hospital in a stable condition.
On Sunday, Brisbane confirmed it was working with the NRL integrity unit.
With his playing future hanging in the balance, the NRL could choose to suspend Mam for bringing the game into disrepute.
But Taylor believes "the real sting in the tail" is going to come from the Broncos and their choice of disciplinary action.
"They are going to be imposing the internal sanctions on Ezra," he said.
The car crash investigation is the second time Mam's come to the attention of the NRL's integrity unit in as many months after he was probed over a fan interaction at a Bali nightlife hotspot last month.
