Kelly Renee Liddicoat sentenced for driving under the influence of drugs

A woman who was convicted of killing two mechanics working on a bus in 2022 has faced court for driving with a cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs in her system before the incident.

Kelly Renee Liddicoat was jailed for killing Baringa man Lleyton Bartlett, 22, and Currimundi man Aaron Pitt, 25, who were repairing a broken down bus on Nambour Connection Rd at Woombye on April 21, 2022.

A woman who has been jailed for killing two young mechanics has faced court for the cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs she had consumed before getting behind the wheel.

Kelly Renee Liddicoat appeared via video link in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on May 13 and pleaded guilty to one charge of driving under the influence of drugs.

Police prosecutor Tara Miles told the court Liddicoat drove a BMW on Nambour Connection Rd at Woombye on April 21, 2022.

Senior Constable Miles said a CDC bus with its hazard lights on had broken down the left hand shoulder of the road and two mechanics - Aaron Pitt, 25, and Lleyton Bartlett, 22 - were attending to the vehicle.

The court heard Liddicoat passed the bus, causing the vehicle to rock, and struck the two mechanics.

Kelly Liddicoat leaves Maroochydore Court House. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Mr Pitt had been “thrown violently” after he was struck by the left corner of her BMW and Mr Bartlett was thrust forward a few metres, Senior Constable Miles said.

The two mechanics later died from their injuries.

Liddicoat was found guilty in 2023 and sentenced earlier this year for dangerously operating a vehicle causing death.

A passersby who witnessed the incident called emergency services and a nurse on scene told police she suspected the driver to be under the influence as she appeared drowsy with slurred speech.

Senior Constable Miles said police had tested Liddicoat for an alcohol reading, which came back negative, and she told officers she had taken prescribed medication and smoked cannabis days beforehand.

Senior Constable Miles told the court Liddicoat said she had been travelling 40km/h by a roundabout and the next thing she saw was a “fluoro shirt.”

Lleyton Bartlett (left) and Aaron Pitt (right) were killed by Kelly Liddicoat while they were repairing a broken down bus at Woombye on April 21, 2022.

The court heard she had been talking on Bluetooth earbuds at the time and she couldn’t keep her vehicle within the lines.

Defence lawyer Bradley Hill told the court Liddicoat had received six and a half years’ imprisonment with parole eligibility after two and a half years in District Court for killing the two young men.

He said she had been disqualified from driving for five years starting from the day of her sentencing and suggested Liddicoat to be convicted and not further punished, excluding an extra driving disqualification.

Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist accepted Mr Hill’s submission.

“At the end of the day...I’m only sentencing the defendant for a driving under the influence of drugs,” he said.

He disqualified Liddicoat for an extra six months on top of the five-year order.