Drug-driver Bianca Harrington on trial for North Gosford crash that killed Kay Shaylor
A JUDGE has to decide if Bianca Harrington was “really significantly impaired” by drugs when she fatally crashed head-on with an aged care nurse at North Gosford in 2016 or if they were merely present in her system.
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SUSPENDED Learner driver Bianca Harrington admits she took drugs the night before she crossed double white lines, on a bend, over a crest and ploughed her father’s Holden Commodore into an oncoming car killing aged care nurse Kay Shaylor.
But what a Judge has to decide — beyond reasonable doubt — is if the drugs “really significantly impaired” her ability to drive or were merely present in her system and she had developed a tolerance to their effects.
The 22-year-old entered a plea of guilty to one charge of dangerous driving occasioning death in Gosford District Court on Monday.
But the young mum pleaded not guilty to aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death under the influence of drugs.
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The matter was set down for a two-day trial in which the court heard yesterday the latter offence of driving under the influence of drugs had a maximum penalty of 14 years compared with an alternative charge of merely having drugs present in a driver’s system, which had a maximum penalty of 10 years.
What is not in dispute is Ms Harrington, of Umina Beach, was just 20 when she was driving south along Mann St at North Gosford about 6am on September 3, 2016, when she overtook another driver on a crest, crossed to the wrong side of the road and clipped another vehicle before crashing head-on with the 62-year-old aged care nurse’s Mitsubishi Mirage.
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Ms Shaylor was taken to Gosford Hospital and flown to Royal North Shore Hospital where she later died.
Two so-called good Samaritans and another woman were later convicted and sentenced for their respective parts in stealing Ms Shaylor’s credit cards from the scene of the crash and using them to buy food, cigarettes, alcohol and even a fishing rod.
Ms Harrington was taken to Gosford Hospital where she underwent mandatory blood tests but was otherwise uninjured.
A toxicology report later found she had a concoction of methylamphetamine, amphetamine and cannabis in her system.
The court heard evidence from forensic pharmacologist Judith Perl that Ms Harrington had 0.15 millilitres of methylamphetamine per litre of blood in her system, which would have “very substantially to no less than significantly” impaired her driving.
The Prosecutor told the court it was the Crown’s case that Ms Harrington’s dangerous driving was consistent with symptoms of being under the influence of methylamphetamine including “risk taking behaviour” and “feelings of indestructibility”.
He said observations from people at the scene were similarly consistent, as were her high blood pressure and heart rate recorded at hospital while her electronically recorded interview with police — some five hours after the crash — showed a woman experiencing “scattered thoughts” as a result of drug use.
The Crown Prosecutor said Ms Harrington told police — among a litany of other “delusions” — she had gone to Repco at West Gosford prior to the dawn crash, which a person not significantly affected by drugs would have known was not open at that time.
However another pharmacological expert said while she had that level of methylamphetamine in her system there was no evidence of how much tolerance she may have developed if she was a regular user.
He said her behaviour at the scene and in her police interview could also have been the result of an “acute stress response” to being traumatised in the head-on crash.
Ms Harrington’s Legal Aid barrister told the court it was “conceded” she had taken drugs but had little sleep that night and the serious crash could have left her “confused”.
She told the court Ms Harrington had been “caught out” and was subsequently lying in her police interview to cover up her drug use and explain her whereabouts leading up to the crash, which explained her seemingly bizarre comments and undermined the Crown’s case that she was “substantially affected”.
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Ms Harrington is also facing charges of negligent driving occasioning death, driving while suspended and driving after her licence was suspended because of fines.
She is yet to enter a formal plea to those charges.
Gosford District Acting Judge Rodney Madgwick adjourned the matter and said he would deliver his judgment some time this week.