Peta Warland jailed for horrific crash at Belmont North that killed Susan Crews
The family of Susan Crews - who was killed by drug driver Peta Warland on her way to work - said no amount of time would ever be justice following her death. Warland was jailed on Friday.
Newcastle
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The family of Susan Crews - who was killed by a drug driver on her way to work - said no amount of time would ever be justice following her death.
In Newcastle District Court on Friday, Peta Richelle Warland — the driver who killed her — was sentenced to two years and six months jail with a non-parole period of one year and four months.
There was a packed courtroom as the sentence was handed down, but a sombre feeling outside as the family described the result as “disappointing”.
The mother-of-two pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death, driving under the influence, while other charges were withdrawn or were used as backup or related charges.
On the morning of May 13 last year, the 33-year-old got into her car to take her partner to work, but as she returned home, crossed over the median strip on to the wrong side of the road and crashed head on with another vehicle at Belmont North.
Court documents said she told police her “eyes went funny” like she was going to pass out before waking up in ICU in hospital, not remembering much of what had happened.
Ms Crews - a “compassionate” social worker - suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene.
A mandatory drug test revealed she was driving under the influence of cannabis, with a pharmacological report stating she would have been “significantly affected”, with the concentration of the drug suggesting she had used recently.
She told police she had smoked three to four joints on May 11 — two days before the crash, but not on mother’s day, the day prior.
Crown prosecutor Jillian Kelton previously questioned Warland’s credibility in telling the truth about her usage and frequency of consuming cannabis, stating she was “unreliable” and “inconsistent”.
But Warland’s defence barrister William Buxton said there was no evidence to suggest she ingested cannabis hours before the crash.
In handing down his sentence on Friday, Judge Tim Gartelmann said the loss of Ms Crews’ life, was a loss to her entire society.
He noted there were inconsistencies with Warland’s account but all that could be concluded was that she used heavily, which impaired her driving.
Although, the harm caused for the offence must be recognised in the sentence.
“She exposed many others to risk,” Judge Gartelmann said.
“The level of her moral culpability is significant.
“The offender has now accepted the responsibility and has remorse, but must be made accountable and adequately punished.”
Warland will spend at least one year and four months behind bars and will be eligible for release in January 2022. She was also disqualified from driving for three years.
Ms Crews’ daughters and partner gave emotional victim impact statements earlier in the week.
The court heard the heart wrenching moment daughter Jade Buckley was on the phone to Ms Crews and heard her struggling to breathe, just moments before the devastating crash claimed her life.
“I called out but I didn’t get a response and I went into panic,” she told the court on Tuesday.
“Then I heard people rushing to scene. Someone finally picked up the speaker (phone) and she had been in a car accident.”