Prosecutors urge court to jail Alexander Campbell for the death of Sophia Naismith
A judge has been urged to break with established case law and jail a driver who killed a teenage girl while driving without due care in his $330k Lamborghini.
Police & Courts
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A District Court judge has been urged to set aside previous case law and jail a driver who was driving without due care when he killed a teenage girl.
Alexander Campbell will be sentenced for aggravated driving without due care for killing Sophia Naismith in 2019.
On Friday, Kos Lesses, prosecuting, urged District Court Judge Paul Muscat to send Campbell to prison.
He cited the seriousness of the crime as well as Campbell’s conscious decision to drive on worn tyres and in sports mode which would have made it more likely for the car to lose control.
“This is a serious instance of aggravated driving without due care which requires imprisonment,” Mr Lesses said.
“He knew how the car would behave if he accelerated. Placing it in sports mode was in a conscious decision. We say that distinguishes this case from other cases.”
Mr Lesses also pointed to a previous conviction for misuse of a motor vehicle in 2009.
“The charge relates to an occasion of racing on the road with another vehicle,” Mr Lesses said.
Judge Muscat said that a review of previous cases involving the crime of aggravated driving without due care showed that no one had been jailed for that charge alone.
“Nothing in case law shows an instance where there has been an immediate custodial sentence,” he said.
Mr Lesses replied that Campbell’s case could be the first of its kind.
Craig Caldicott, for Campbell, argued that his client should be given a suspended sentence.
He argued that his client had not driven since the crash and had no intention of returning to the road.
Outside court, Mr Caldicott said that imprisonment was a “real option” which Judge Muscat would be looking at.
“It is a serious matter, however given the lack of prior driving history we say he should receive a suspended senence.
“There are no winners out of this, it is a terrible accident.”
The court heard that Campbell had saved for years to purchase the $300,000 sports car he was driving when he hit Sophia.
“He saved for that car for years, he had other cars which he would do up and sell,” Mr Caldicott said.
“They don’t spend money on houses and holidays, they spend it on cars which is their passion.”
The minimum licence disqualification for aggravated driving without due care is six months while the maximum prison sentence is 12 months.
Mr Caldicott said he could not find a case where a licence disqualification had exceeded two years.
Campbell was suspended from driving as a condition of his bail, which he had varied to allow him to drive his pregnant wife to the hospital.
Judge Muscat said he would need to back date any disqualification to when the Campbell was prohibited from driving.
Backdating in such a way would make it likely that Campbell will be able to drive again either at sentence or shortly afterwards.
‘Rot in hell’: Sophia’s family slam Lambo driver
A driver who hit and killed a teenage girl after leaving the road in his high performance car has been described by the family of his victim as “nothing”, “a psycho” and “pathetic”.
On Friday, family and friends of Sophia Naismith unleashed three years of pent up sadness, fury and grief against Alexander Campbell, the driver of the car which killed the 15-year-old and injured her best friend Jordyn Callea.
Campbell, 35, was acquitted of causing Sophia’s death by dangerous driving during the crash on June 22, 2019.
He pleaded guilty to driving his $330k white Lamborghini Huracan without due care at the side of the crash.
In a series of victim impact statements read to the court, the family and friends of Sophia and Jordyn took aim at Campbell’s driving.
“You are a gutless coward and have shown a shameful lack of decency,” Pia Vogrin, Sophia’s mother, said in a powerful statement read directly to Campbell.
“My wish, my dream, my hope was that Sophia lived a full and happy life.
“You killed Sophia’s dream, her right to life.
“You will always be one of the most reviled people in this state and be remembered for this crime, I will ensure this.
“New laws will have your name attached so your community always knows.”
Luke Naismith, Sophia’s father, said the death of his eldest daughter had blown his family apart.
“I feel like I died that night, I am just walking around in a soulless shell,” he said.
“My life and our lives have been thrown into utter turmoil, it will never ever end.
“I dread waking up every morning, my first thought is always: this isn’t just a nightmare.
“Why should I bother with leaving the house – when I get home I know Sophia will not be there. My heart aches constantly.”
Jordyn said she spent the end of 2019 in a wheelchair learning to walk again and grappling with survivor’s guilt.
“(Sophia) truly would have changed the world, you have taken the purest soul from the world, but you have left me with the worst feeling in the world – survivor’s guilt – to think that you will never reach the highs of the life that was taken,” she said.
“To think this case defines me is heartbreaking.”
Her best friend and fellow student at Brighton Secondary School, Jordyn, was seriously injured in the crash.
She would later say that the last thing she remembered was the car coming at her sideways as it left the road.
Campbell had his pregnant partner in the car and was returning with other drivers from a car show in Marion where he had been displaying his car.
He was charged with causing harm and death by dangerous driving following the crash as well as aggravated driving without due care.
Campbell stood trial in the District Court on the dangerous driving charges after pleading guilty to aggravated driving without due care.
During the trial the court heard Campbell lost control after accelerating.
His tyres were worn and he had been advised to replace them and he was driving the car without the factory traction control settings turned on.
In the hours before the crash he had been seen driving erratically.
However, the crux of the trial came down to whether Campbell had accelerated “harshly” or “aggressively” causing the car to lose control.
Craig Caldicott, for Campbell, argued that if his client had accelerated normally and had lost control, the charge of dangerous driving could not be made out.
In his verdict Judge Muscat said he could not be satisfied that the Campbell applied “harsh acceleration” to the car leading to the crash.
He concluded that he could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the acceleration had not been moderate and a conflagration of factors had led to the car sliding sideways.
Mr Caldicott said Campbell had written an apology to read to the court.
The court emptied as the Naismith family and their friends left – indicating they did not want to hear what Campbell had to say.
“These words have not come easy as I struggle to convey how sorry I truly am, I worry about saying too much or not enough,” he said.
“I can never find the words to express my ongoing grief for the families of Sophia and Jordyn.
“I live every day in a prison of my own creation, knowing that a family has lost a child, nothing is ever going to change what I did.”
Outside court Campbell, who has remained silent during court proceedings for three years, reiterated that he was sorry and heartbroken.
He will be sentenced next month.
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