Renay Paiym Condoleon in court for driving without due care leading to death

A mum who asked her misbehaving son to get out of the car has faced court after her actions resulted in a heartbreaking death following the most tragic of circumstances.

Renay Paiym Condoleon in court for driving without due care leading to death.

A Queensland court has heard how a mother’s common warning to misbehaving children in the car turned tragic and resulted in the death of her young son.

Renay Paiym Condoleon, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of driving without due care and attention or driving without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road, causing death or grievous bodily harm.

The mother had been driving through the Bundaberg suburb of Calavos in Queensland on November 13, 2022 when her children in the backseat began acting out.

As many parents have done before, Condoleon pulled over and asked her son, 8, to step out of the car, warning him she might leave him behind if he did not behave, the court heard.

In a bluff to reinforce the threat, the court heard Condoleon began to drive away, unaware her son had reached out to grab the back of the car, stepped on to a damaged side rail and in the tragedy of a moment, slipped and was killed.

The court heard Condoleon stopped almost immediately, cooperating with police for hours following the heartbreaking incident.

Bernard Reilly appeared for Condoleon and said the circumstances surrounding the offending was a “series of unfortunate events that led to utter tragedy”.

He told the court Condoleon had undergone and continued to participate in grief counselling following the incident.

Renay Paiym Condoleon in court for driving without due care leading to death.

Magistrate John McInnes was sympathetic to the unusual set of circumstances, the secluded area in which the incident took place and that Condoleon was not attempting to place anyone at risk during the offence.

“I doubt there would be many children in Australia who haven’t been at least threatened they would be kicked out to walk home while driving in the car at some stage,” he said.

In his sentencing remarks Mr McInnes commented on the lack of set legal precedent in such cases and said given the circumstances of the offending a prison sentence would not be in range, nor in the best interest of the community.

“In this case we’re already dealing with a person of good character...I don’t think I need to add my voice to denunciation as I’m sure the facts of the case itself will lead to that conclusion in everyone’s mind,” he said.

“General deterrence is a relevant consideration but when we consider the target audience for offenders in a similar position...I do wonder whether the prospect of a prison sentence would be any more deterrent than the prospect of losing a child.”

“The consequence in this case could scarcely have been worse.”

Mr McInnes commented on the unpredictable way children sometimes act and the pressures upset children place on parents.

“Children are vulnerable and are apt to make decisions which to an adult would seem irrational,” he said.

Condoleon was sentenced to 15 months probation, with her licence disqualified for six months and no convictions were recorded.