Suspended sentence for Shane Robert Singleton, who fled scene after driving over and killing woman lying on road

This driver struck and killed a woman lying on the road and then fled the scene, but he won’t be spending any time behind bars.

A man who struck and killed an intoxicated woman who was lying on the road – then panicked and left the scene – has avoided an immediate jail term for an offence which “may befall any of us”.

Shane Robert Singleton, 47, of Rosewater, was driving south along Addison Rd, Pennington, about 7.20pm on April 30, 2021 when he fatally struck a 25-year-old woman who was lying in the southbound lane.

Singleton stopped his car a short distance away, before he “freaked out” and drove away.

He pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated driving without due care and leaving the scene of an accident.

In sentencing for the offences, District Court Judge Rauf Soulio said Singleton had not seen the woman – who was later found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.24 – and ran over her without slowing down.

“You had not realised that you had struck someone until immediately afterwards. You got out of the car briefly but observed a large group of people yelling, apparently angrily, and you said, to use your terms, you ‘freaked out’,” he said.

Shane Robert Singleton leaves the Adelaide District Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

Singleton instead returned to his car, drove to his nearby daughter’s home then on to a police station, arriving 25 minutes after the crash.

“You said that you did not think to call an ambulance because you were panicking and you told police you knew you were in trouble because you had left the scene of the collision,” Judge Soulio said.

He said a group of people who had been yelling were also seen to throw punches at another motorist who had stopped to help.

He said the offence of driving without due care was committed “without criminal intent”.

“It is an offence which may befall any of us using the roads through lack of proper care or lack of proper attention,” he said.

“It is well known that using the roads carries with it a risk of danger to others.

“We have a duty to one another to avoid collisions and we have a duty when a collision occurs to stop and render such assistance as is possible.”

Judge Soulio said the death of the woman – who has not been named in court for cultural reasons – had caused “crushing” grief to her extended family, who listened to the sentence via a video link from the APY Lands.

Singleton was not drugged, drunk or speeding. Judge Soulio said the incident had a “significant impact” on Singleton’s mental health, including “intrusive re-experiencing of the event”.

He said Singleton had acknowledged he “could have, should have” done more to help the woman such as calling emergency services.

He suspended an almost two-year jail term on condition of a two-year good-behaviour bond, including 240 hours of community service. Singleton was banned from driving for 10.5 years.