Kellyville crash accused Lisa Mottram was ‘drunk and texting’ when her car hit a family leaving a girl critical
A FOUR-year-old girl last night remained fighting for life after the estranged wife of ex-Parramatta Leagues club boss Denis Fitzgerald crashed her car into a family on Sunday night. Police allege Lisa Mottram was driving to buy cigarettes while twice the legal alcohol limit and texting on her phone.
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- Crash accused is estranged wife of ex-Parramatta Eels chief
- Kellyville crash: Girl, 4, in intensive care after family hit
AFTER being driven home following an evening drinking at a popular Sydney pub Lisa Mottram decided her night wasn’t over and allegedly got in her car to buy cigarettes.
Less than a minute later the 50-year-old wife of former Parramatta Leagues Club boss Denis Fitzgerald had allegedly run down four tourists — critically injuring a four-year-old girl — just 300m from her home.
Police claim Ms Mottram, a hairdresser, had a blood alcohol reading more than twice the legal limit and was also texting when she hit the family who were walking at the side of the road in Kellyville in Sydney’s northwest.
Ms Mottram, who has been separated from Mr Fitzgerald for 18 months, had been to dinner at Rouse Hill’s The Fiddler Hotel on Sunday night with a girlfriend and then met some old friends.
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The Daily Telegraph understands she was then driven home by her friend who stayed with her for a while before leaving.
Around 9.30pm, the mother of one is alleged to have left her Winning St apartment to drive to a nearby shopping centre to buy cigarettes.
The family of four from Hong Kong were visiting relatives on Hezlett Rd and were standing on the side of the road where there are no footpaths when they were allegedly hit by the white SUV being driven by Ms Mottram.
The four-year-old girl took the brunt of the accident and suffered massive head injuries. She was taken to Westmead hospital in a critical condition.
A 55-year-old woman, believed to be the girl’s aunt, sustained internal and spinal injuries in the crash and was in a stable condition last night.
The girl’s parents, a 45- year-old man and a 44-year-old woman, were also taken to Westmead hospital and were listed as stable.
Ms Mottram was also taken to the same hospital where she was breath tested and returned a positive reading for alcohol.
She was then taken by police to Castle Hill station where she underwent further breath analysis allegedly recording a reading of 0.113.
Police charged her with three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, one charge of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, mid range drink driving, misusing mobile phone and misconduct causing bodily harm.
She has been granted conditional bail and ordered to appear in Parramatta Court on October 10.
Police will allege she had sent multiple texts just before the accident. Police are now examining her phone records and CCTV footage from the hotel and the surrounding areas to establish her movements before the accident.
Her car is also being forensically examined. A neighbour who lives in the same complex as Ms Mottram said she was traumatised following the incident.
“I saw her this morning and she was in tears … I felt really bad for her,” she said.
“She was really shocked, she was beside herself. It was a mistake, it shouldn’t have happened.”
Inspector Katie Orr of the NSW Metropolitan Crash Unit told reporters driving under the influence while using a mobile phone was a dangerous combination.
“It’s a dangerous combination,” Inspector Orr said. “No one should get behind the wheel with any alcohol … but on top of that to be using your mobile phone is extremely dangerous.”