Justine Hampson: Drug-driver who sparked ‘Zoe’s Law’ after death of Brodie Donegan’s foetus convicted of drug possession

The drug affected driver who ploughed into a pregnant woman on Christmas Day — sparking an Australian first law reform to recognise the criminal death of a foetus — has been busted behind the wheel with drugs.

The heroin junkie who was sentenced to a minimum of just nine months jail after ploughing into a heavily pregnant woman on Christmas Day in 2009, killing her 32-week-old foetus, has been caught again with drugs while sitting in the driver’s seat of a van.

Justine Hampson was jailed in 2011 after pleading guilty in Gosford District Court to driving under the influence of drugs and dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm to expectant mum Brodie Donegan.

But under the laws at the time, Hampson was never charged over the death of Ms Donegan’s unborn child named “Zoe” who was not recognised by Australian legislation because Zoe had never taken a breath.

The then 41-year-old was sentenced to two years and three months jail with a non-parole period of nine months before she was released on December 30, 2011.

Justine Hampson arrives for her sentencing at Gosford District Court in 2011.

Hampson, who the court heard was a long time heroin user and had a cocktail of methadone and five other drugs in her system when the van she was driving left the road and ploughed into Ms Donegan, pinning her against a tree, was ordered to undergo “substance abuse relapse prevention” and “life management skills” upon her release.

But just over a decade later, the now 52-year-old, was busted by police sitting in the driver’s seat of a silver Toyota van in possession of cannabis and heroin.

Hampson was charged with two counts of possessing a prohibited drug and was due to face Gosford Local Court on Thursday where she was convicted of both offences and fined a total of $600 in her absence.

An agreed set of facts states Brisbane Water Police’s proactive crime unit officers were patrolling Gosford and Narara about 10am on Tuesday, February 8, “due to an increase in property, knife and drug related crime”.

Brodie Donegan and her husband Nick Ball at their Ourimbah home in 2019. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Officers were driving along Showground Rd, Narara, when they saw two vehicles parked next to each other at the far end of the car park near Paddy Clifton Oval.

The facts state as police approached they saw Hampson sitting in the driver’s seat with a pair of scissors in her hand while a male in the front passenger seat “dropped something” on the floor.

Officers informed the pair they were going to search them and when the male passenger got out police “noticed a smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle”.

Police found a small resealable bag in Hampson’s handbag and two smaller bags in the coin holder of the driver’s side door which turned out to be 0.9g of heroin.

In the glove box police found a Coles bag with a large resealable plastic bag inside it containing 29.7g of cannabis.

Hampson told officers the heroin was for her own personal use but did not say anything about the cannabis, which police believed was hers because the scissors she was holding were for “preparing the cannabis”.

Ms Donegan meanwhile campaigned tirelessly to change NSW laws to recognise not only the harm done to a mother, but also the death of an unborn child, by a criminal act.

After 12 years of lobbying NSW became the first and only jurisdiction in Australia to have a stand-alone offence of “causing the loss of a foetus” when “Zoe’s Law” came into effect a few weeks ago on March 29.

Under the new laws anyone convicted of causing the death of a foetus through a criminal act — such as dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm to the pregnant woman — can face a maximum penalty of 28 years imprisonment.

The new laws can also be applied to the loss of a foetus where a pregnant woman is murdered due to a third-party criminal act.

The ultrasound of foetus Zoe Ball taken in August 2009 before Ms Donegan was hit by an out of control van driven by Hampson.

The new offences can be laid where the foetus was at least 20 weeks old or 400g in weight.

Ms Donegan told the Express Advocate she was “disappointed” to be told Hampson had been busted with drugs while seated in the driver’s seat of another van.

“She hasn’t learned anything over 12 years,” Ms Donegan said.

“I feel sorry for her, I felt sorry for her, every time it came up, it affects me so I assumed it would affect her.

“I would hope she would be spurred on to make good choices. Her two kids were alive and she only had nine months in jail and got to go back to her children. But I lost one of my children. And to think she could have done it again.”

Ms Donegan, fiancee Nick Ball and their eldest daughter Ashlee, 2, in 2010 just months after Ms Donegan was struck by Hampson.

Ms Donegan said while nothing would replace Zoe or ease the grief experienced by families impacted by such tragedies, she was happy the new laws had come into effect.

“I’m hoping [the legislation] never gets used but if it does hopefully people are able to get charged for what they do,” she said.

Attempts to contact Hampson were unsuccessful.