Jessie Dodd, 24, jailed after horror crash that seriously injured two teenage girls

A man has admitted to causing a horrific car crash on Port Rd at Hindmarsh that left two teen girls with injuries so serious, one will never be able to give birth naturally.

The lives of two teenage girls were forever changed the night a young man stole a car, ran a red light and struck their vehicle – causing it to roll and leaving them both with serious injuries – a court has heard.

Jessie James Dodd will now spend the next four years behind bars, after his actions left one young woman unable to have a natural birth, and another with a broken neck.

Dodd, now 24, pleaded guilty to aggravated causing serious harm by dangerous driving, leaving the scene of an accident, driving a motor vehicle without consent, driving while unauthorised, trespass and theft.

In sentencing in the South Australian District Court on Monday September 16, Judge Kristopher Handshin said Dodd and another person had stolen a Toyota Camry on the night of May 21, 2023.

He said that police attempted to pull over the vehicle in Brompton at about 8pm. Dodd was driving, but he failed to stop.

“Instead, you increased the speed of the Camry in an attempt to escape police who shortly thereafter desisted from their pursuit of you,” Judge Handshin said.

“You were last observed conducting a right-hand turn onto the wrong side of Chief St, Hindmarsh and tragically your dangerous driving did not stop there.

“As you approached the intersection of Chief St and Port Rd, Hindmarsh, the traffic lights in your direction of travel were red.

“You drove the Camry through the intersection of Chief St and Port Rd against the red light for your direction of travel and collided with the passenger side of a Mazda with such force that the Mazda was thrown onto its roof.”

The car the girls were travelling in was flipped onto its roof in the collision. Picture: 7NEWS

The court heard the front passenger in the Mazda, then 19-years-old, suffered a broken rib, fractured vertebrae, collapsed lung, fractured pelvis and pneumonia.

She underwent numerous surgeries and spent weeks in hospital, and needed to use a wheelchair after she was discharged.

“Tragically, she has been advised that because of the injuries she suffered, she will be unable to have a natural childbirth in the future,” Judge Handshin said.

He said the driver of the Mazda, also 19-years-old at the time of the collision, spent eight days in hospital recovering from a fracture to bones in her neck.

Dodd did not take any steps to render assistance to the girls, nor did he present to a police station after the collision, but he later told a psychologist that he had been drinking red wine and consumed methamphetamine on the day of the crash, and had been on “the back of a month-long methamphetamine bender that saw (him) consuming the drug on a daily basis”.

“The choices you made that evening have cost (the two women) dearly. Their lives have been upturned by the injuries they sustained in the collision,” Judge Handshin said.

“(One victim) explained in her victim impact statement that the accident plays on a relentless loop in her mind haunting her every waking moment and invading her sleep with recurring nightmares

“Your dangerous driving, the very serious injuries it caused and your unconscionable decision to leave the scene of such a severe collision is extremely serious offending and deserving of strong condemnation.”

He jailed Dodd for seven years, eight months and 13 days, with a non parole period of four years and six months.

He will be eligible for parole in February 2028.

Originally published as Jessie Dodd, 24, jailed after horror crash that seriously injured two teenage girls