James Kell sentenced for Taylor Stankovski Prior’s crash death
The enduring pain and loss suffered by the family of a hairdresser killed in a head-on collision by a drunk, drug-affected aircraft engineer on the NSW South Coast has been laid bare in court.
The South Coast News
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An aircraft engineer who killed a young hairdresser in a head-on collision on the NSW South Coast was more than twice the legal blood alcohol limit and affected by cocaine, MDMA and cannabis when he fell asleep at the wheel, a court has heard.
Taylor Stankovski Prior was a woman with her whole life ahead of her when the hairdresser’s life was senselessly taken in a horrific crash at Currarong on New Year’s Day in 2022.
James Kell had barely slept after leaving a New Year’s Eve party a few kilometres up the road, where he had been drinking until 3.30am and had consumed cannabis, cocaine and MDMA.
Around 10am, the 21-year-old aeronautical engineer fell asleep behind the wheel, crossed onto the wrong side of the road, and ploughed into Ms Stankovski Prior’s car.
The 26-year-old woman’s injuries were so severe she tragically died at the scene.
Kell, from Walton Way, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and mid-range drink driving with drugs in his system on March 24.
He has been behind bars on remand ever since.
At Sydney District Court on Wednesday, Judge Christopher O’Brien had the grim task of deciding how Kell would atone for Ms Stankovski Prior’s untimely loss.
“Taylor Prior was an innocent young woman simply going about her business typical of all members of the community who use the road,” he said.
“Shortly after 10am, she had the fatal misfortune of encountering the offender, in tragic circumstances – completely avoidable, completely and totally avoidable, due to the driving conduct of the offender.”
Judge O’Brien acknowledged the indescribable loss and grief to her family – noting there was no worse fate to a parent than the loss of their child – and offered the court’s deepest sympathies.
“Ms Prior was clearly a young woman with great promise who was much loved and the pain of her family’s loss is both immeasurable and ongoing,” he said.
“Those who are left behind will never be the same again.”
Blood samples taken two hours after the fatal crash indicate Kell had a blood-alcohol level of 0.116 – more than twice the legal limit – and had cannabis, cocaine and MDMA in his system.
The court accepted a pharmacologist’s expert analysis that Kell was more likely to have had a level closer to 0.143 – almost three times the limit – when the crash occurred.
The pharmacologist further opined he was likely to have still been affected by cannabis, and by withdrawal symptoms from the cocaine and MDMA at the time.
Kell told police he could not remember anything about the crash until he awoke from a brief lack of consciousness to see his airbags deployed.
Judge O’Brien acknowledged Kell had no prior criminal record and had enjoyed a loving, supported and prosocial life prior to his fatal error.
“My experience as a legal practitioner and a judicial officer informs me the offender must have been aware he should not have been driving,” he said.
“He exposed the public to grave risk, which was tragically realised.”
Judge O’Brien convicted Kell of both offences and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment for the dangerous driving causing death with a non-parole period of 21 months.
No further conviction was imposed for the mid-range drink driving with drugs in his system due to the substantial overlap with the dangerous driving charge.
With time served, Kell will be released on parole on December 23 next year.
He was also disqualified from driving for three years and subject to a 12-month interlock licence which will be backdated to the day of the offence.
Ms Stankovski Prior’s father Ron said Kell’s sentence provided some closure.
“If that kid could turn back time, I think he probably would,” Mr Prior said.
Mr Prior said his daughter was “funny, quirky, and very much an individual”.
“She was a good kid, I miss her,” Mr Prior reflected softly.
“It sucks.”