A transport company and its sole director have been fined over the fatigue-related death of a delivery driver.

The employee was 12 hours into an overnight shift taking baked goods to Albury and other places in Victoria’s north when his van drifted into the path of an oncoming truck.

The 27-year-old worker died in the August 2022 crash, but the other driver was unharmed.

WorkSafe found the delivery driver had completed the same 796-kilometre run for 17 consecutive nights, mostly on shifts exceeding 12 hours and without adequate rest breaks between them.

Onkar Group, trading as Bakeology, and director Maninder Singh Nagi, pleaded guilty to five charges under Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.

At Wangaratta County Court today, the company was fined $1.1 million for recklessly placing a worker in danger of serious injury and $250,000 for failing to provide a workplace that was safe. Nagi was fined $80,000.

“Driver fatigue puts workers and the general public at serious risk, and the consequences can be even more devastating when vehicles collide with other motorists or dwellings,” WorkSafe chief health and safety officer Sam Jenkin said.

“This incident is a tragic example that shows how setting realistic workloads and safe policies can be the difference between a worker going home at the end of the day or tragically losing their life.”