Ryan Kimball’s family receive apology from Attorney-General

A 16-year-old died after the car he was in crashed at over 160km/h. Now his family has received an apology over how their pleas for an appeal of the sentence were dealt with.

The Kimball family has been fighting for justice for their son and brother.

The walls in Ryan Kimball’s room are covered with messages from his friends and loved ones.

There is a row of KFC boxes lined up in front of his neatly tucked bed and pictures of the 16-year-old doing what he loved.

Those close to Ryan have been visiting the room, now stalled in time, since he was killed in a high-speed car accident on June 9, 2022.

The car Ryan was in when he died was estimated to be travelling between 160-180km/h on a 60km/h road when it became airborne and crashed into a power pole.

His father said the family go into Ryan’s room for a few hours every now and then to talk to him.

It’s one of the few consoling things they can do, after their appeal over the sentence of the now 18-year-old driver was dismissed by the office of the Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath.

The driver, who was 17 at the time of the crash, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death, driving as a learner without supervision, driving without L plates displayed as a learner driver and using a phone while driving.

The court decided not to record convictions and give the 18-year-old an immediate conditional release.

The family, along with Ninderry MP Dan Purdie, called on Ms D’Ath’s office to appeal the conviction.

They found out via a journalist and not through the Department of Public Prosecutions or Ms D’Ath’s office that their request for an appeal was rejected.

A roadside memorial to Ryan Kimball.

The family are pushing forward with their efforts for justice and reform, for their son and others who could fall victim to horrific but preventable traffic accidents in the future.

In a voicemail left by Ms D’Ath to the grieving family, heard by the Sunshine Coast Daily, the Attorney-General apologised for the communication mishap.

“It’s not how she wanted it to happen and she apologised for it,” said Ryan’s father Graeme Kimball.

“Even though we appreciated her contacting us we believe it is something that she should of acted upon at an earlier convenience before the outcome of the appeal was made public to the media and public before we were notified.

“The communication between the government departments requires review to prevent further disappointment to the public.”

Ryan Kimball's friends have been leaving notes for him since his passing.

Mr Purdie, who has been supporting the family in their efforts, said Ms D’Ath had just gone into damage control.

“As she attempts to hose down the political fallout from another embarrassing and shameful gaffe,” he said.

“The fact she has finally found the time to call Graeme and Annette Kimball right before a media conference with the family proves what we already thought.

“This government is more concerned with managing the media cycle than listening to victims.”

Mr Kimball said they were used to being knocked down.

“This is the third time we’ve been knocked down but I do feel as though something went wrong in our representation by the DPP (Department of Public Prosecutions) in court to obtain some sort of justice for Ryan,” he said.

Ryan Kimball's room is filled with memories from his family.

In a subsequent statement, Ms D’Ath said she had significant sympathy for Ryan’s family and appreciated that “the outcome, from their perspective, does not adequately compensate their loss”.

“However, the court took into account a range of factors in this case, and the Acting Director of Public Prosecutions advised they did not consider there are reasonable prospects an appeal would be successful,” she said.

Ms D’Ath reiterated her condolences on how the family found out about the outcome of their appeal.

“In relation to the Kimball family finding out about the decision via the media, I would like to offer my apologies,” she said.

“Procedures have now been put in place to avoid this occurring in the future.”