O’Shea is accused of causing a crash which left a man with leg injuries

The lawyer of a woman accused of drug driving and causing a crash which left a truck driver injured has told a court there is no proof a blood sample showing a positive reading of meth belonged to her client.

THE lawyer of a woman accused of drug driving and causing a crash which left a truck driver injured has told a court there is no proof a blood sample showing a positive reading of meth belonged to her client.

Ingham woman Britnee O’Shea returned to Townsville Magistrates Court on Friday for the second day of her hearing.

She pleaded not guilty on Thursday to drive without due care and attention or drive without reasonable consideration for other persons using road causes death or grievous bodily harm, and driving under the influence of liquor or a drug.

She pleaded guilty to one count of possessing dangerous drugs – after hospital staff found a glasses case containing a clipseal bag with crystal substance, a glass pipe and plastic straw on her after the crash.

Police allege at 7.45pm on December 17, 2019, O’Shea crossed into the oncoming lane on Ingham Rd and crashed into a truck which had been driving in the opposite direction.

A forensic crash analyst who assessed photographs of the crash scene, suggested the ute driven by O’Shea had been slightly angled back to her correct side of the road.

Blood samples taken from O’Shea upon admission to hospital, later obtained through a police search warrant, recorded .15mg per litre of blood of meth.

During the cross-examination of Dr Leslie Griffiths, a doctor who provided opinion on whether O’Shea had been affected by meth at the time of the crash, told defence lawyer Belinda Bray that O’Shea’s behaviour had been “typical” of someone intoxicated by meth.

Dr Griffiths said the drug would “manifest” in a range of behaviours with a reading such as O’Shea’s – including crossing lines, driving on the incorrect side of road, disinhibition, difficulties with perception of speed, and abrupt lane changes.

In O’Shea’s defence, Ms Bray submitted there were issues with the continuity and admissibility of the certificate of analysis showing O’Shea had meth in her blood.

She suggested the vials of blood had been tampered with, a suggestion denied by investigating officer Detective Senior Constable Michael Wren and Senior Sergeant Nalder.

Senior Sergeant Nalder rejected the suggestion, saying there was “no evidence” of any tampering.

Ingham woman Britnee O'Shea.

She maintained there was “no doubt” the blood contained in vials labelled with O’Shea’s name had been drawn from and belonged to O’Shea, which were the same vials sent to Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services (QHFSS) for analysis.

Senior Sergeant Nalder said the physical evidence of the crash could not “lie”, and that O’Shea yelling “sorry” to the driver of the truck after the crash showed “some consciousness of guilt”.

Ms Bray submitted to Magistrate Scott Luxton that he may find it “difficult” to conclude the bloods belonged to her client, and submitted that police had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the blood contained meth.

She argued that O’Shea had “no idea” how the meth had got into her system, despite Senior Sergeant Nalder earlier submitting O’Shea had given two versions of the events which “differed significantly”.

Ms Bray submitted there were doubts as to the withdrawal time of the bloods, the presence of fentanyl administered to O’Shea, storage, recording and transportation of the vials which had been transported to, and analysed by QHFSS.

A decision will be handed down on November 23.

Originally published as O’Shea is accused of causing a crash which left a man with leg injuries