Connor French jailed at Beenleigh Court for tragic Windaroo car crash

A teenage driver who flipped his car while driving 90km/h over the speed limit has been jailed for the crash which killed a pregnant mother.

Tori-Lee Coggan-Price and Connor Elliott French

An 18-year-old driver who killed his pregnant passenger and injured another in a 2021 crash after recklessly speeding at 160 km/h in a 70 km/h zone, has been jailed for six years by a Logan court.

Connor Elliott French pleaded guilty in Beenleigh District Court on January 31, 2023 to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death and grievous bodily harm while speeding.

The court heard the Tamborine man was excessively speeding at 166 km/h in a 70 zone on Beaudesert road, Windaroo on July 31, 2021.

In his car were passengers Kylah Smithers, 19 and Tori-Lee Coggan-Price, 28 and all three were not wearing seatbelts.

French lost control of the car and hit a drain, flipping the car from the front, end over end.

Sixteen-week pregnant mother of three Ms Coggan-Price was thrown 37 meters from the car and tragically lost her life. Friends remembered her as a “burst of sunshine that will forever be loved and missed.”

Tori-Lee Coggan-Price.

Ms Smithers suffered serious injuries with swelling under her scalp, displaced fractures in her back, a haematoma and told the court she had ongoing issues with her foot as a result of the accident.

“You killed one young lady and caused grievous bodily harm to another,” said Judge Craig Chowdhury in his sentencing remarks.

“You all should have been wearing seatbelts, there is so much education around it.”

French underwent a drug and alcohol test at the hospital after the crash and returned a positive saliva reading to a small amount of cannabis which he told police he smoked 30 minutes before getting behind the wheel.

Connor Elliott French's car after a tragic 2021 Windaroo crash

The court heard French received two speeding fines in 2022 after the accident and on one occasion was fined for not wearing a seatbelt.

Prosecution said this showed a clear lack of insight from French as excessive speeding and a lack of seatbelts were main factors in the tragic death of Ms Coggan-Price.

“I would have thought after such a serious injury you would not speed and would always wear a seatbelt,” said Judge Chowdhury

“There is no reason why you drove as badly as you did, it was sheer stupidity, dangerousness and recklessness.”

Connor Elliott French was jailed at Beenleigh District Court

Mr Chowdhury said nothing the court did would change the tragic consequences of the crash.

“The sentence I impose today will not repair the damage or bring back Ms Coggan-Price,” he said.

French was sentenced to six years in prison and will be eligible for parole June 30, 2024.

His driving license was also disqualified for four years.