Youth sentenced to good behaviour bond for careless driving that killed Millicent’s Ned and Nan Walker, and Sue Skeer

A devastated family who lost three loved ones in a horror crash are worried the teen driver’s “next-to-none” penalty sets a dangerous precedent.

The family who lost three loved ones due to a boy’s careless driving said they will be “forever broken” and devastated by what they see as a “next-to-none” penalty.

The teenage driver was sentenced in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Monday to a 12-month good-behaviour bond and banned from driving for 18-months.

In July, Judge Penny Eldridge said she found the boy not guilty of dangerous driving for the crash that killed Ned and Nan Walker, and their daughter Sue Skeer on the Princes Highway at Suttontown, near Mount Gambier, on November 28, 2020.

Jacqui Verbena and Kerry-Lee Bromley labelled the not guilty verdict as another kick in the guts. Picture: Arj Ganesan

However, she found him guilty of lesser charges, including five aggravated counts of driving without due care, causing death and serious harm in the first four counts and driving without due care for the remaining three counts.

In a statement released by the victim’s family after the boy’s sentencing, they said they feared the outcome set a dangerous precedent for young drivers’ lack of accountability.

“More and more lives are being lost on SA roads, with many of them being minors or being caused by minors,” the statement read.
“They want the privileges of being an adult, but not the consequences. And the system that stands, continues to allow this.

“Why would young drivers change their actions when they know the penalty for dangerous driving and causing death is next to none.”

The family said they remained silent during the proceedings believing the justice system would prevail.

The family said they were “devastated and deeply disappointed” that despite being told their voices would be heard during victim impact statements on Monday, many of their statements were edited last minute.

“Our family will be forever broken by this,” the statement read.

“We can only hope as a family that it doesn’t take another catastrophic incident like this to further highlight the flaws within the so-called justice system.”

Sue Skeer with her mother Nan Walker. Picture: Supplied by the family

Millicent’s Ned and Nan Walker. Picture: Supplied by the family.

In her published judgment after the verdict, Judge Eldridge said it was clear the boy momentarily lost concentration, moved briefly to the incorrect side of the road and the consequences were “catastrophic”.

However, she said she accepted the evidence of mechanical engineer Christopher Hall that the boy had corrected his position and moved to the correct side of the road before the impact.

During the boy’s Youth Court trial in Mount Gambier, prosecutor Aimee Winra said the boy was driving a Toyota LandCruiser on the incorrect side of the road when it collided with a Ford Territory driven by Ms Walker.

Prosecutor Aimee Winra did not make a comment after she left the Adelaide Youth Court after the boy’s verdict. NCA NewsWire/David Mariuz

A sign and floral tributes placed at the site of the fatal crash. Picture: Jessica Ball.

The court heard allegations he was thinking about school, not the road, just before the crash and had “zoned out”.

It also heard he stopped taking his ADHD medication, without his doctor’s knowledge, months before the crash.

In the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Monday, Judge Penny Eldridge sentenced the boy to a 12-month good behaviour bond and disqualified him from driving for 18-months.

No convictions were recorded.