Tracey Olivia Devilee: not a ‘bad bone’ in red light runner who hit motorcyclist on M1 intersection, lawyer tells court
A Gold Coast defence lawyer said he “doesn’t think there’s a bad bone” in his client who hit a motorcyclist after she ran a red light at Oxenford. Read what happened here.
Police & Courts
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A Gold Coast defence lawyer said he “doesn’t think there’s a bad bone” in his client who hit a motorcyclist after she ran a red light.
Tracey Olivia Devilee, 45, pleaded guilty to driving without due care causing grievous bodily harm when she appeared in Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday, April 16.
The court heard a two vehicle collision occurred between a car and motorcycle on the M1 Oxenford overpass around 3.55pm on September 2, 2023.
On the day, a motorcyclist on a 2018 Kawasaki Vulcan was stopped at a red light at the westbound lanes at the Hope Island overpass.
The court heard when the motorcyclist’s traffic lights turned green, he drove in between and took off ahead of two vehicles.
At the same time Devilee, who was driving a car with three children inside, drove through a red light while travelling southbound on the M1 Oxenford overpass and did not see the motorcyclist driving out from between the two cars.
The front of the motorbike collided with the driver’s side of the car, with the motorcyclist flying off his bike.
The man was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital with leg and arm injuries.
The court heard Devilee told police she had been leaving JB Hi-Fi and she thought the traffic light was orange.
Police prosecutor Rodney Keyte told the court there was quite a lot of contribution from the motorcyclist and Devilee would not have been able to see him from the way he had taken off.
He said she would have been clear of the intersection if the motorcyclist had taken off in a normal fashion but Devilee was ultimately the one required to give way.
Devilee’s defence lawyer Colin Greatorix said the motorcyclist was travelling at an excessive speed but his client acknowledges she made a mistake.
He told the court she had been suffering with homelessness for three years and had been living in her own car.
Mr Greatorix said he had gotten to know Devilee quite well.
“I don’t think there’s a bad bone in her body,” he said. “Whatever she’s done, she’s done for her children and I don’t hesitate to suggest that she has learned her lesson from this issue.”
He said his client told him she doesn’t ever want to drive again.
Magistrate Jane Bentley accepted Devillee could not have seen the motorcycle coming through the intersection, but if she had stopped at the red light, she would not have hit him.
Devilee was ordered to be of good behaviour for 12 months and given a $1500 recognisance.
She was disqualified from driving for six months.
No conviction was recorded.
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