Ian Robert Armstrong jailed for meth-fuelled crash that killed Paul Quantrall
A driver high on meth has been jailed for causing a deadly Bruce Highway collision that killed a man on his way to work, and left his partner seriously injured.
Police & Courts
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A 40-year-old man has pleaded guilty to causing a head-on collision on the Bruce Highway near Apple Tree Creek that claimed the life of a man on his way to work at a lychee farm.
Ian Robert Armstrong appeared in Bundaberg District Court in April 2025, where he was convicted on his own pleas of guilty to three charges: dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, dangerous operation causing grievous bodily harm while adversely affected, and unlawful possession of methamphetamine, methadone and alprazolam.
Crown Prosecutor Toby Corsbie told the court the crash happened on December 6, 2023, when Armstrong steered his vehicle into the path of an oncoming car, and failed to brake before the collision.
The impact killed the driver of the other car, Paul Martin Quantrall, and left Mr Quantrall’s partner with serious injuries requiring surgery to regain use of her arm.
Mr Corsbie described the victims as two people simply travelling to work at a lychee farm.
Armstrong was found to have methamphetamine and methadone in his system at the time of the crash.
His criminal history spanned 13 pages and included persistent drug offending, domestic violence offences, and a long traffic record with 41 infringements, the court heard.
His licence had been suspended five times for demerit point accumulation, and he had previously been convicted of drug driving and failing to stop for police.
The court was told Armstrong had only recently completed a 12-month sentence for a separate offence in October 2023.
Just 15 days before the fatal crash, he was issued a notice of an impending licence suspension, set to begin in January.
Although the prosecution questioned whether Armstrong had shown genuine remorse, his counsel tendered a letter of apology to the court.
A victim impact statement from Mr Quantrall’s partner, Josephine Quantrall, was also tendered, although she did not attend the hearing.
Judge John Allen sentenced Armstrong to four years and six months’ jail, to be served cumulatively on top of an existing sentence.
He had spent 431 days in custody, which was not declared as time served.
He will be eligible for parole on February 9, 2027.
Armstrong was also disqualified ‘absolutely’ from holding or obtaining a Queensland driver’s licence.
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