Parents tell court of anguish
LYNNETTE Lyall's last words to her children were "be good, have fun, love you". Just hours later, they died in a car crash.
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LYNNETTE Lyall's last words to her children were "be good, have fun, love you". Just hours later, they died in a car crash.
Yesterday, Mrs Lyall and her husband, Lee, told the Adelaide Magistrates Court the horrific news had killed them as well.
"Our lives, now, don't in any shape or form reflect the lives we had with our children," they said in a joint statement.
"We feel we died, too ... we are the walking dead and our hearts are somehow still beating even though they have been smashed into smithereens.
"We wear masks ... you might see us looking and doing OK but we are far from it."
Adrian O'Daniel, 22, of Wallaroo, faced court yesterday.
He was originally charged with causing the deaths of Troy, 20, and Shanae, 16, by dangerous driving after the crash, near Bute, in October 2011.
Yesterday, he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of one aggravated count of driving without due care and attention.
Prosecutors said the charge was downgraded because they could not prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that O'Daniel was speeding or intoxicated at the time of the crash.
His offence was therefore a "moment of inattention" that led to the car drifting off the road.
O'Daniel faces a maximum 12-month jail term and a licence disqualification for at least six months.
In their victim impact statement, Mr and Mrs Lyall said they wished O'Daniel could experience even a moment of their pain and suffering.
"We will never be able to forgive you, this is just too big for us," they said.
"We allowed you to attend Troy and Shanae's memorial ... the main reason we let you was so you could see and experience the aftermath.
"We were not trying to be kind to you."
Lawyers for O'Daniel said their client deserved a suspended sentence, given his good character, lack of criminal history and his genuine remorse about the crash.
They said O'Daniel had been stricken with grief and guilt over the incident and would "carry that burden for the rest of his life".
Magistrate Jayanthi McGrath remanded O'Daniel on continuing bail for sentencing in February.
