Deanna Azabal: Driver who killed much-loved Illawarra grandmother learns her fate

An Illawarra driver who took her eyes off the road while arguing with her husband, before veering into another car and killing a beloved grandmother, has teared up in court as her sentence was handed down.

The distracted woman who killed unsuspecting grandmother Angela Darragh after veering into her car on the M1 Princes Mwy in the Illawarra last year has been spared jail.

Deanna Azabal, 31, teared up in Wollongong Local Court on Monday as Magistrate Claire Girotto delivered her sentence for negligent driving occasioning death, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and two counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct.

The magistrate took two weeks to consider submissions before sentencing the Lake Heights woman to an 11-month intensive corrections order as well as a three-year community corrections order.

The court had previously heard Azabal and her husband, Ivan, had been having a spat ahead of attending her father-in-law’s 60th birthday at The Fraternity Club in Fairy Meadow on the night of Friday, March 5, 2021.

Azabal was looking for her husband while engaging in a heated text-message argument which saw Ivan sending messages such as “By tomorrow it’ll be all over … Like a dead pet” and “Youre done, im done, just say goodbye”.

Ivan returned to the car at around 7pm when they decided against going to the celebrations and instead headed home.

Deanna Azabal with her husband Ivan leaving Wollongong Courthouse. Picture: Dylan Arvela

The couple argued as Azabal drove them home, ignoring seven missed calls from her mother-in-law which came through her silver Nissan Juke’s bluetooth system.

At around 7.15pm, Azabal was looking at her husband when she swerved into Ms Darragh’s Holden Statesman which forced it off the road and into a tree.

Ms Darragh, 47, sustained fatal injuries to her head, chest and abdomen while her daughter, Clare, and two other relatives were airlifted to Westmead Hospital.

When police arrived, Ivan pleaded, “This is on me, this is all on me” while an “upset and emotionally exhausted” Azabal told them “probably just a combination of being distracted and I don’t know” caused the crash.

In court on Monday, Magistrate Girotto also suspended Azabal‘s license for two years and ordered she complete a combined 300 hours of community service with the culprit commenting “I feel faint” when asked if she understood the sentencing.

“Clearly this offence is a serious one,” the visibly emotional magistrate said when handing down her sentence for what she described as offending ”above the mid-range” for this type of offence.

“It‘s true she was not exceeding the speed limit, but she was not in a fit state to drive... it wasn’t a case of momentary inattention.

“Loss of a human life is a tragedy for those who value the life [of the deceased] and the community.

Grandmother Angela Darragh died in the crash. Picture: Supplied

Angela Darragh’s daughter Clare Spicer and husband Dean Spicer outside Wollongong Courthouse. Picture: Dylan Arvela

“There‘s no way of understanding the tragic loss and I pass on the sincere sympathies of this court [to the family and friends of the deceased].

“The law has no capacity to restore real lives.”

Magistrate Girotto said Azabal would have to “live with it for the rest of her life” while also noting the ”extra parochial punishment” of “negative posts on the internet”.

Outside court, Ms Darragh‘s widower Dean Spicer said he was “pretty happy” with the outcome.

“We forgive her for what she’s done. We’ve got to in order to move on,” he said.

The ICO will expire in July next year while the CCO will extend to August, 2025.