Rani Paige Lowry to serve no time in custody over drink driving crash into Greens MP Amy MacMahon

A “heavily intoxicated” driver who sped through a red light at a busy Brisbane intersection - leaving a local politician with a traumatic brain injury - will serve no time in custody.

Rani Paige Lowry at the Supreme Court in Brisbane on May 30. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

A “heavily intoxicated” driver who sped through a red light at a busy Brisbane intersection - leaving a local politician with a traumatic brain injury - will serve no time in custody.

Former Greens MP Amy MacMahon was left comatose with serious injuries including blood clots to her brain and a carotid artery dissection after the horror crash on February 12, 2024.

Despite her injuries, Dr MacMahon made a “generous” plea through her victim impact statement at the driver responsible’s sentence on Friday not to send them to jail.

The court was told Rani Paige Lowry, 27 of Moorooka, had run a red light at the intersection of Main Street and Baines Road, Kangaroo Point, around 6.30pm while over three times the legal alcohol limit.

The Moorooka chef had been driving her mother’s uninsured Hyundai i30 southbound on Main Street - more than 20kms over the 60km speed limit - when she struck Dr MacMahon’s Toyota Prius.

South Brisbane MP Amy MacMahon sustained serious injuries in a two-vehicle crash at Kangaroo Point on February 12.

Crown prosecutor Luke Smoothy told the court Lowry had accelerated to speeds of up to 90kms in the seconds prior to collision, striking Dr MacMahon - who had been working in her role as an MP that night - at a speed of 83kms/hr.

CCTV captured Dr MacMahon’s Prius “spin” about 180 degrees from the impact of the collision, with extensive damage immediately visible to both cars.

Lowry was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.186 following the crash.

Dr MacMahon was hospitalised for two and a half weeks, and was in a brain injury rehabilitation unit for half of that time, Mr Smoothy said.

The court heard she suffered post-traumatic amnesia and was “unable to form memories” for seven days.

Mr Smoothy said without hospitalisation Dr MacMahon would have been at “serious risk of neurological deterioration - and that would have led to her death”.

Lowry pleaded guilty in April to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing grievous bodily harm while adversely affected and was sentenced on Friday to three years jail with immediate parole.

Amy MacMahon’s car crash on Main St.

Dr MacMahon did not attend Friday’s sentence in person, but Judge David Kent noted the “rare” compassion she had shown in her statement.

“Very generously it says towards the start that in some ways it has enriched her life,” Judge Kent said.

Mr Smoothy told the court Dr MacMahon had stated that “justice for her is Ms Lowry’s genuine rehabilitation”.

“If there is support you need to make sure you never ever for the rest of your life do something like this again and you need support … I’m willing to help,” he quoted.

Despite Dr MacMahon’s request, Mr Smoothy said that Lowry should serve up to six months in actual custody, considering the “devastating consequences” of her actions.

Defence barrister Jack Kennedy, instructed by Beavon Lawyers, said his client stopped driving by choice after the crash and had struggled with feelings of remorse and shame.

He tendered a letter of apology that Lowry had written in response to Dr MacMahon’s victim impact statement.

Amy MacMahon with her smashed up car post accident.

Mr Kennedy said Lowry had relapsed into alcohol dependency and depression following an unexpected death in her family five months prior to the collision.

He said she “wasn’t drinking for the thrill of it or the excitement” but had been attempting to ease her anxiety.

“She describes having a panic attack and deciding to flee, which is why she drove at the time,” Mr Kennedy said.

“...There was the argument with the male in the vehicle where they were bickering and yelling, which might explain in some ways the inattention.”

He submitted that Lowry’s ADHD diagnosis, in combination with the alcohol consumed, had also impacted her “ability to rationalise”

Rani Paige Lowry outside the courthouse. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Mr Kennedy said his client had “basically gone cold turkey” and stopped drinking following the incident.

The court heard Lowry had no criminal or traffic history in Queensland, but had been convicted in New South Wales, aged 19, of driving while suspended and over the middle alcohol limit.

Judge Kent acknowledged Lowry had a “difficult upbringing” and said he would give “significant weight” to Dr MacMahon’s views.

But he said he needed to balance the “serious competing factors” including the severity of the offending to determine an appropriate sentence.

He ultimately sentenced Lowry to three years jail with immediate parole, and Lowry’s licence was automatically disqualified for one year.

Lowry burst into tears after exiting the courtroom and was embraced by one of her supporters.