Dakota Lauren Christie: Nightclub worker took drugs, crashed car, left wheelchair-bound

A Gold Coast nightclub worker has been left in a wheelchair after taking multiple drugs and driving home, crashing into a tree. Read what happened in court.

Dakota Lauren Christie, 20.

A woman who crashed into a tree and was clinically dead before being brought back to life twice in hospital, has fronted court in a wheelchair.

On Wednesday, 20-year-old Dakota Lauren Christie pleaded guilty in Southport Magistrate’s Court to drug driving on the Gold Coast after a crash that almost killed her.

On July 17 at around 4am, police, firefighters, and paramedics attended the scene of an accident where Christie’s Toyota Corolla collided with a tree.

“Due to injuries sustained and the urgency of (Christie’s) medical condition, she was transported by ambulance to Gold Coast University Hospital,” the prosecution told the court.

In hospital, a blood sample was taken, confirming the presence of amphetamines, methamphetamine, and ketamine in Christie’s system.

The defence, Lee Quinn of Hannay Lawyers, said the accident was “quite severe” and his client has a long road to recovery.

The court was told the driver’s left foot was partially amputated and her knee cap detached, but doctors were able to sew her back together. While Christie hasn’t been paralysed by the accident, she is undertaking rehab.

“She was placed in an induced coma, she died twice while at the hospital,” Mr Quinn said.

“(Christie) has significant injuries (and is) still about 18 months from (walking independently).”

Mr Quinn said the young Empire R&B Nightclub worker had fallen into a “bit of a wrong circle” and started taking drugs. Christie’s criminal record shows only one matter, a drug possession charge from just a few months prior to the crash.

The lawyer said Christie is hoping to move away from her troublesome past and obtain work in childcare “but obviously she has to look after herself first”.

Mr Quinn noted his client isn’t working at present, asking the magistrate to consider reducing any fine that may be imposed.

“She has obviously suffered personally in regards to injuries,” Mr Quinn said.

Magistrate Dermot Kehoe accepted this was Christie’s first time before the court, but questioned her traffic history.

He asked Mr Quinn why his client’s record showed two mobile phone use charges, a month after the accident, despite her being in a wheelchair.

The lawyer advised other people have been using Christie’s vehicle and perhaps the offence had been wrongly attributed to her. The magistrate said it’s “not a good idea to let other people drive your car”.

The magistrate also queried the use of ketamine, asking how a drug used “for greyhounds” could’ve been in her system, and Mr Quinn advised it’s used recreationally for “people out on the party scene”.

Mr Kehoe said “people shouldn’t use drugs and drive”, warning Christie “you could’ve been killed in this accident”.

Christie was convicted, fined $600, and disqualified from driving for four months.