Jennifer Joan Turner attempts to appeal 10-year sentence for dangerous driving causing death

A Sunshine Coast woman who killed a Gold Coast truck driver while doing 164km/h with meth in her system has claimed her 10-year sentence was “excessive” and “crushing”.

Jennifer Joan Turner was jailed after an accident in which she drove head-on into a truck driven by Gold Coast man Shane Morse near Marlborough in 2022.

A Sunshine Coast woman who killed a truck driver while driving dangerously with lethal levels of meth in her system has attempted to appeal her 10-year jail sentence for the “selfish” crime.

Jennifer Joan Turner was speeding at 164km/h on a provisional drivers licence when she killed Gold Coast-based truck driver Shane Morse in June, 2022.

Mr Morse, 62, had been driving a prime mover on the Church Hill Creek Bridge, 20km north of Marlborough, at about 4.30am when Turner crossed the double white lines and struck him head-on.

Turner, who had been driving a rental car, had been wearing a brace on her right leg for a knee injury at the time.

She also returned blood test readings four hours after the crash revealing levels of methamphetamine “above the average seen in cases of lethal methamphetamine toxicity”.

The single mum-of-three gave inconsistent statements to witnesses and police, including claiming that she had not been speeding at the time of the collision – despite being recorded travelling at high speeds at multiple points along the Bruce Highway in the two hours leading up to the crash.

Gold Coast man Shane Morse, 62, was driving an Australia Post truck when he was killed in a head-on collision on the Bruce Highway.

Judge Jeff Clarke told Turner at her sentence last December that “this was a selfish, irresponsible, horrible thing to do”.

He said her leg brace would have “severely hampered her ability to safely control the car” and her decades of experience using drugs meant she was “acutely aware” of the impact of meth.

Turner had pleaded guilty to one count each of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death while intoxicated by meth and excessively speeding, drug driving and contravening police direction.

She was sentenced to 10 years jail and was disqualified from driving absolutely.

The 10-year sentence resulted in the crime being declared a serious violent offence, meaning Turner would need to spend 80 per cent of her sentence in actual custody before being eligible for parole.

Turner has since attempted to appeal her sentence, arguing it was “excessive” and “crushing” given the 522 days she spent on remand in custody prior to her sentence.

That time was not able to be declared time-served due to her being on parole when the offence occurred.

Turner had previously been convicted of drug trafficking in 2017 and had been on parole at the time of the crash for possessing a commercial quantity of drugs.

When considering the appeal on Tuesday, September 17, Chief Justice Helen Bowskill noted the Parole Board had suspended Turner’s parole on the day following the crash.

She said Turner had a “terrible” traffic history, with 16 convictions for speeding and two prior convictions of driving while a drug was present in her system.

Justice Bowskill further noted the sentencing judge had taken the 522 days of pre-sentence custody into account when delivering his sentence, saying he had reduced the sentence accordingly.

“The result in this case is neither unreasonable nor unjust,” she concluded.

“ … She (Turner) will spend a long time in custody. But that is the consequence of her own criminal offending.”

Turner’s appeal against the sentence was dismissed.