Amberly Hendy: Katunga mother sentenced over crash that killed sister and her partner

A Katunga mother who smoked four bongs before colliding with another car in the Goulburn Valley — killing two people — has been sentenced in court.

A mother who had smoked four bongs before colliding with another car amid a freak hailstorm in Northern Victoria, killing her sister and her partner and seriously injuring her four-year-old daughter, has dodged a prison sentence.

Katunga woman Amberly Hendy, 31, appeared in the County Court at Melbourne for sentencing on Thursday after earlier pleading guilty to two charges of dangerous driving causing death and one charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury.

The charges relate to a horrific collision on the Goulburn Valley Highway, near Wunghnu, in September 2019.

The court was told Hendy had spent the night in Shepparton with her younger sister Eloise Rigby, 23, and her sister’s partner Adam Boland, 39, on the evening of September 5.

After putting her four-year-old daughter to bed, the adults stayed up and smoked cannabis until 2am.

Hendy smoked a further four “bongs” throughout the following day before packing up to drive back to Katunga.

Amberly Hendy pleaded guilty in the County Court on Thursday. Picture: Supplied

The then 28-year-old Hendy agreed to drive Boland’s silver Commodore sedan from the approximate 15-minute trip from Shepparton to Katunga, though she had not planned on it, because she “just wanted to get home”.

Crown prosecutor Erin Ramsay told the court it was raining when the group left Shepparton and the weather worsened within minutes — Hendy deactivated the car’s cruise control and with reduced visibility, pushed down on the brakes to slow down.

The rain almost instantaneously became a “sudden localised extreme hailstorm”— Hendy overcorrected, hit the brakes and lost control of the car, skidding onto the other side of the highway and colliding with a car travelling in the opposite direction about 2.40pm.

She later told police she remembered “screaming…and then getting out of a car that was completely annihilated”.

Hendy’s sister — described as more like “her twin” and “soulmate” as they were so close — and good friend Boland died at the scene.

Hendy’s daughter was seriously injured and required resuscitation before she was flown to the Royal Children’s Hospital.

The toddler required a blood transfusion and suffered multiple fractures, lacerations and a traumatic brain injury.

She was in hospital for six weeks but required a further nine months of outpatient care.

Ms Ramsay told the court the charges were “three fold” and Hendy fell to be sentenced for the fact it was dangerous for her to “get in the car and drive”— that is, in an unroadworthy vehicle with a bald tyre, in wet and icy conditions and after smoking cannabis throughout the day.

Adam Boland, 39, died at Wunghnu, near Shepparton when the car he and his partner Eloise Rigby were travelling in crashed. Photo: Supplied

Mr Boland’s mother, Anita, detailed how much she missed not only her son but also the women and child, all whom she had seen frequently before the crash.

“I miss them all so much. The weather was hideous that day and I live with the guilt and wonder if things would be different if I suggested they delay their trip,” it read.

While describing her own grief, she went on to say Hendy would be “feeling punished everyday for killing her sister”, her son and injuring her child.

She conceded it could well have been her son behind the wheel that day and asked the judge to take that into consideration.

Hendy’s lawyer, John Kelly SC, described the case as “inevitably tragic”.

“It is often the case that the consequences constitute a punishment far in excess of anything a court can impose,” he said, adding the punishment Hendy had measured out on herself was “almost unbearable”.

Eloise Rigby, 23, also died in the crash. Photo: Supplied

“There isn’t a day that goes by that she isn’t reminded of the loss she is responsible for.”

He said Hendy had no criminal history, was “hardworking” and was “utterly familiar” with the stretch of highway, while there was no evidence of impaired control of the vehicle.

“...There is no suggestion she weaved outside her lane, interfered with other road users or that tapping the brakes was an action she shouldn’t have taken.

“There is perhaps a debate to be had about how to negotiate these tricky conditions but what she encountered was extreme and a very sudden onset.”

He said the child experienced post traumatic stress disorder and extreme separation anxiety from her mother so sending her to prison could have a “catastrophic” impact on her, to which the prosecution agreed.

Noting they were rare and exceptional circumstances, Judge Elizabeth Gaynor said Hendy would be constantly reminded of the crash by way of her continued relationship with the Boland family but also because of the impact on her daughter.

“This is a very great and ongoing tragedy,” she said. “The extra-curial punishment is very high — the loss of a beloved sister and her partner, the grief and distress to your parents and the serious injury to the daughter you clearly love and their effects which you must deal with on a daily basis.”

Judge Gaynor said the legal threshold of exceptional hardship had been reached and sentenced her to a community corrections order for four years, with conditions to undertake “a heavy load” of unpaid community work and to engage in treatment for mental health and drug use.

Her licence was cancelled and she was disqualified for 18 months.