Lachlan Stuckey jailed for killing three mates in horror Tarago crash
The young man who caused a fatal crash tragically killing three friends after a night out in Canberra, will spend at least four years behind bars.
The young man who caused a fatal crash tragically killing three friends after a night out in Canberra, will spend at least four years behind bars.
Lachlan Stuckey, 22, was sentenced in Goulburn District Court on Monday by Judge John Pickering SC more than a year and a half after the fatal Tarago crash.
The Shoalhaven man previously pleaded guilty to three counts of negligent driving occasioning death, and driving with a suspended licence.
The court heard how Stuckey veered off an intersection at Bungendore and Collector roads on July 28, 2024, killing his girlfriend Charlie Quinn, 18, and two mates Brooke Sorlie, 21, and Aaron French, 20.
Emergency services found Ms Sorlie, Ms Quinn and Mr French dead at the scene.
Stuckey escaped with non-life threatening injuries.
Judge Pickering SC noted it was clear from the victim impact statements read in court by Ms Quinn’s family and friends, that the young woman’s loss had severely impacted his loved ones.
The families of Mr French and Ms Sorlie did not read out victim impact statements.
“No sentence will do true justice for the life of Charlie Quinn, Brooke Sorlie, or Aaron French,” Judge Pickering said.
“The loss of such young people is clearly devastating, they had whole lives ahead of them.
“He killed his best friend, he killed his girlfriend and he killed the girlfriend of his best friend.”
Agreed facts revealed the triple-fatality followed 21st birthday celebrations in Canberra the evening before.
The next day, one member of the group heard the Stuckey talking about how many drugs he had taken.
The group then departed Canberra to Nowra, and Stuckey drove for 43 minutes into a two hour journey before crashing his vehicle, rolling it onto its roof and killing the other three passengers.
Another vehicle with four passengers who were also part of the 21st celebration were driving a short distance and swiftly came upon the crash.
Before sentencing, the court heard Stuckey had accepted full responsibility, was remorseful and suffered from “survivor’s guilt”.
Stuckey was ultimately convicted and sentenced to six years and seven months behind bars, four years without parole.
He will be eligible for release in December, 2029.
As Stuckey was handcuffed and led from the court, a victim’s family member shouted: “you promised you would look after her mate, and you didn’t”.
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Originally published as Lachlan Stuckey jailed for killing three mates in horror Tarago crash
