Gold Coast mother Candice Chmieluk charged over fatal Palm Beach crash which killed sister Sammy-Jo
A GOLD Coast mother-of-two has been charged over the fiery death of her younger sister in a horror smash at Palm Beach. The car mounted a median strip, became airborne and smashed into a pole.
Crime and Court
Don't miss out on the headlines from Crime and Court. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A GOLD Coast mother-of-two has been charged over the fiery death of her younger sister in a horror smash at Palm Beach.
Candice Chmieluk, 30 of Worongary, was allegedly behind the wheel of her black Jeep when she lost control and smashed into a traffic light pole on Thrower Drive at Palm Beach in May last year.
The impact killed her passenger — younger sister Sammy-Jo, 24, who was trapped inside the burning wreck.
More than a year after the horror smash which shocked the Gold Coast, Candice was today charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death while adversely affected and driving under the influence of liquor.
She is expected to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on July 5.
The pair had allegedly spent the afternoon catching up at Currumbin Surf Life Saving Club on Sunday May 29 last year and only made it 2km down the road before crashing.
The pair were travelling north on the Gold Coast Highway at 5.52pm when they failed to negotiate a bend, mounted the median strip and became airborne before hitting a traffic light pole at the intersection with Thrower Drive.
The impact caused the car to split in two before becoming engulfed in flames.
Members of the public were able to drag Candice to safety but Sammy-Jo was killed instantly.
The sisters grew up in Armidale, all attending Armidale High School but Candice and elder sister Kristy, 33, moved to the Gold Coast and Tweed Heads several years ago.
Sammy-Jo was the only sister to remain based in the New England area of NSW but she made regular trips to the Coast to visit her sisters, nephews and niece.
Social media reveals the three were close, would often comment on each other’s posts, share childhood photos and plan visits.
Facebook posts show Sammy-Jo as a typical fun-loving 20-something, with pictures of her with friends, drinking wine and doting over her older sisters’ children.
Candice is a mother to three-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, and lives at Worongary with her long-time partner.
Vicious public assault ‘could not be stopped’
A man who "couldn't be stopped" when he grabbed his partner by the hair and dragged her 100m through a Gold Coast shopping centre car park has now faced court over two dozen charges.
‘I’m not going to promise you anything’
A mother facing a string of drug offences was perhaps too honest with a magistrate yesterday after she initially couldn’t guarantee being on her best behaviour.