Teacher aide Saige Emily Jackson responsible for motorcyclist’s highway death to appeal jail sentence

A teacher’s aide handed a three-month jail term for killing a motorcyclist and seriously injuring his wife in a catastrophic highway mistake managed to walk free from custody the same day, after her plans to appeal the sentence were revealed.

A Wooloowin woman who was issued a jail sentence for a catastrophic collision which killed a man and hospitalised his wife for months has now been granted bail.

Teacher’s aide Saige Emily Jackson, 25, pleaded guilty on September 15, 2022, to driving without due care and attention, causing death and grievous bodily harm.

The court heard at the time the March 27, 2021, Logan Motorway collision, in which Jackson slammed her brakes in the midst of a panic attack, ended the life of Jeffrey Alan MacArthur.

His wife and passenger Katherine Ann MacArthur was left to plan her husband’s funeral from a hospital bed, as she recovered from a punctured lung, lacerated liver and fractures to her pelvis, tibia, feet, the base of her skull and vertebrae.

Jackson was issued a sentence of three months actual jail time, and members of both the MacArthur and Jackson families were in tears as she was taken into custody.

“At least it’s something,” members of the MacArthur family repeated to each other afterwards, saying they were not expecting her to serve actual time in jail but were pleased she would.

Later the same day however, they received word that Jackson had been released on bail and intended to appeal her sentence.

The matter is now to be dealt with in the Ipswich District Court on an unknown date.
On September 15, the court heard that around 7.40pm on March 27, 2021, Jackson had been driving at 100kmh on the Logan Motorway in Carole Park, with her intoxicated brother in the passenger seat.

The two got into an argument, which the court heard lasted at least 10 minutes, and Jackson experienced increasing anxiety and tearfulness as her brother yelled and berated her.

Jackson braked heavily enough that the car’s anti-lock braking system was engaged, and the car came to a complete stop in the middle of the right lane.

A motorcycle behind her braked as well but was unable to stop before crashing into the back of her car.

Motorcyclist Jeffrey Alan MacArthur, 54, died at the scene, while his wife and passenger Katherine Ann MacArthur was hospitalised for 267 days, placed in a coma, and suffered what court heard would likely be lifelong injuries.

When police attended the scene, they observed Jackson crying, while her brother berated her and filmed her reaction with his phone.

Jackson spoke to an officer at the scene, making admissions to what had occurred and partial responsibility, but she declined a formal interview at the time.

On September 15, the Jackson and MacArthur families filled separate sides of the courtroom for Jackson’s sentencing, both sides teary-eyed.

In Jackson’s account of events, she said she was crying so heavily she experienced difficulty seeing in front of her and that she had intended to find a spot to pull over but was boxed-in by a larger vehicle.

Magistrate Robert Walker viewed footage of the collision in court and made clear that in his view there was ample opportunity for Jackson to have pulled to the side of the right lane, where her car would have been less obstructive, or to have merged to the left lane.

Defence lawyer Martin Longhurst emphasised the emotional distress Jackson was under at the time.

“It was a stressful situation, that was the perception of my client at the time,” he defended.

“Her brother was in her face, yelling at her for about 10 minutes … She said [to a psychiatrist] ‘my brother was insulting and degrading me and he was calling me stupid’.”

Mr Longhurst said Jackson’s brother’s statement corroborated that at the time “[Jackson] was starting to hyperventilate and have a panic attack”.

He further compared Jackson’s actions to someone slamming their brakes at a kangaroo.

“It was an impulsive response to significant stresses … There was a decision made in that context that had terrible consequences, but it’s a significantly different context to someone who was just not paying attention,” he said.

Mr Longhurst said Jackson had no criminal history and currently worked as a teacher’s aide, while completing her Bachelor’s of Education.

Mr Walker questioned whether the police had considered pursuing Jackson’s brother as a suspect, and crown prosecutor Matt LeGrand confirmed police had interviewed Jackson’s brother at the time and decided not to pursue him as a suspect.

Mr LeGrand emphasised the severe consequences of Jackson’s actions, accepting the context of anxiety and distress, but ultimately arguing Jackson hadn’t taken appropriate opportunity to stop safely as her level of stress increased.

He also noted Jackson had three entries of speeding on her traffic history.

Mr Walker noted that after the collision, Mrs MacArthur had been placed in multiple induced comas, went through at least 20 surgeries, and doctors had to prepare her family for the worst a number of times.

“It’s difficult to imagine a worse example of grievous bodily harm,” said Mr Walker.

Mr Walker read out portions of Mrs MacArthur’s “harrowing” victim impact statement, quoting, “having that time lying there unable to move because I had a halo on my head and chest, my right foot so badly broken that at one stage they were going to amputate, and the fractures to my hip and pelvis made it difficult. And it was so hard and draining, at times I wish I had died.”

“I had to organise my husband’s funeral from hospital, the hospital bed, because I was so severely injured and so unwell I couldn’t attend his funeral, which didn’t happen until the 14th of July.”

Mr Walker said words could not adequately describe “the extent of the appalling consequences – the ending of Jeffrey’s life, the terrible alteration to Katherine’s, and the awful impact on so many others”.

He sentenced Jackson to eight months imprisonment, to be suspended for a period of two years after serving three months in custody.

Jackson was further disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for 12 months, and a conviction was recorded.