Kaine Andrew Charter was drunk, unlicensed and a had a broken ankle the night he mowed down a mum on the M1
A repeat drink-driver who mowed down a Gold Coast mother of five, dragging her body along the M1 for almost 60m, has been jailed and banned from driving for life
Police & Courts
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A REPEAT drink-driver who mowed down a Gold Coast mother of five, dragging her body along the M1 for almost 60m, has been jailed and banned from driving for life
Kaine Andrew Charter had lost his licence for drink driving just five days prior to smashing into Tammara Macrokanis from behind as she walked on the side of the Pacific Motorway at Coomera on Saturday, October 17, last year, killing her instantly.
Ms Macrokanis was dragged 52m along the highway.
Carter was sentenced in the Southport District Court on Monday for dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death while intoxicated, unlicensed driving, driving unregistered and driving uninsured.
Carter, who has a shocking traffic history, drove for 500m before stopping, getting out and checking his Mazda ute, the court was told.
“There is no reason for him not to be aware that he knew that he hit someone,” Crown Prosecutor Christopher Cook said.
“At this point, he must have known because there was blood all over his car.”
The 32-year-old got back into his car and drove for another 2km until the car could not drive anymore.
Ms Macrokanis’ sister Chenai Radnedge came across Carter lying on the side of the road near his crashed car minutes later.
She helped him, unaware he had just killed her sister.
Carter was aggressive to police.
Ms Radnedge had been out looking for her sister who had decided to hitchhike from Pimpama to her Casino, NSW home after a falling out at a family event.
It took two hours for Ms Macrokanis to be found in vegetation on the side of the road.
Carter had been drinking at a Logan pub before getting behind the wheel.
The crash was about 20km away from the pub.
Moments before striking Ms Macrokanis, Carter veered over four lanes of traffic, into the side of the road and onto the guard rail.
Tests in hospital found that Carter had a blood alcohol reading of 0.161 per cent hours after the crash and the drug ice and cannabis were found in his system.
The night of Ms Macrokanis’ death, Carter made no indication to police he was involved in a crash.
He said his brother-in-law had been driving.
Carter was also wearing a moon boot the night of the crash, despite his car being a manual transmission.
Carter had also lost his licence five days earlier for other driving offences.
The court was told Carter had a shocking traffic history. which included four convictions for drink driving, 13 speeding offences, four convictions of unlicensed driving, and one count each of failing to stop at a crash and driving while licence was disqualified.
Judge Deborah Holliday sentenced Carter to nine years prison with parole eligibility in October 2024. He has spent more than 400 days in pre-sentence custody.
She also disqualified him from driving for life.
She said there were a number of reasons – including he was unlicensed, heavily intoxicated, had an injured ankle and unregistered – that Carter should not have got behind the wheel.
“With that combination of circumstances it defies belief that you got behind the wheel of the wheel of a vehicle,” Judge Holliday said.
“But you did.
“And when you did you drove erratically at speed immediately prior to the accident and failed to keep a proper look out.
“The consequences were catastrophic.
“Your dangerous driving caused the death of a 32-year-old woman.”
Defence barrister Victoria Trafford-Walker, instructed by Legal Aid Queensland, said Carter had little memory of the crash
“He can’t explain why he got behind the wheel of a car and I can’t proffer a reason for why he left the scene,” she said.
Ms Trafford-Walker said Carter was remorseful and had provided a letter of apology to the family.
“He instructs he has nightmares where he relives what he has been told about what occurred on this day,” she said.
She said Carter had been attending Alcohol Anonymous while in custody.
Ms Trafford-Walker said Carter had been drinking on average 12 cans of bourbon a day.
The court was told in the weeks prior to hitting Ms Macrokanis, Carter was involved in a dirt bike crash which left him with a broken ankle, abdominal injuries and internal bleeding which led to his penis being degloved and needing skin grafts.
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