Cooper McGinley to be sentenced for mowing down woman on the Northern Expressway and fleeing scene

The family of a woman who was mowed down on the Northern Expressway have spoken of their heartbreak, condemning the driver for leaving her to die alone.

The family of a woman who was mowed down on the Northern Expressway have confronted the driver in court, condemning him for leaving her to die alone.

Cooper Leslie McGinley, 24, will learn his fate later this month after the horror tragedy that occurred at Ward Belt in June, 2021,

During sentencing submissions on Friday, the court heard the victim, Jennifer Thompson was five times the legal limit and speeding at 140km when she crashed in the middle of the Northern Expressway.

A Holden driver who was travelling ahead of McGinley saw the car and veered to the left of the road to avoid it before spinning out of control.

The court heard McGinley, who was driving a Mitsubishi Triton, veered to the right and struck Ms Thompson, who was walking on the grass strip.

McGinley kept driving before stopping 1.5km down the road, telling officers on scene he pulled over because his car was shaking.

The court heard cannabis and methamphetamine were found in his system.

Frank Niemann, prosecuting, said they didn’t accept McGinley’s submission that he didn’t realise he had hit a person, but rather a speed hump, as there were human hair fibres found in the windscreen wipers.

Cooper McGinley outside court. Picture: Ben Clark

Victim impact statements were read to the District Court on Friday by the investigating officer.

Ms Thompson’s fiance, Naomi Lamberts said she grieves for all the memories and times she now won’t have with the “love of her life”.

“Cooper you left Jen to die alone in pain,” she said.

“Three years on I still picture the person I loved most in this world lying alone in the dark, cold and rain.

“I wonder how scared she must have felt.

“You took everything away from us Cooper, you have tainted our memories of Jen with heartache and despair and stolen our future.”

Ms Thompson’s parents, Raelene Thompson and Rick Brown said not a day goes by that they don’t think of her.

“When Jennifer’s heart stopped that night, our heart stopped,” they said.

Ms Thompson’s son, Caleb told the court he would now miss out sharing many milestones with his mother, including having her hold his children or being there on his wedding day.

“I never even got a chance to say goodbye and I love you and I have to live with that for the rest of my life because the honour of being able to grow up got stolen from me,” he said.

Jennifer Thompson with her son Caleb. Photo: Facebook

McGinley pleaded guilty to leaving the scene after causing death and aggravated driving without due care and driving without due care.

Stacey Carter, for McGinley, who has an intellectual disability, told the court her client doesn’t recall seeing the victim and was travelling below the speed limit of 110km/h.

“She (the victim) was driving completely drunk … she could have killed someone that night in those conditions,” she said.

The court heard McGinley suffered critical injuries while he was a passenger in a horror crash in 2017, which killed his best friend.

Ms Carter pushed for a suspended or home detention sentence for McGinley, saying he was deeply remorseful for the offending.

Judge Paul Muscat will sentence McGinley later this month, noting the offending was a tragedy for all involved.

Originally published as Cooper McGinley to be sentenced for mowing down woman on the Northern Expressway and fleeing scene