Fatal crash mum to spend 12 months in jail after death of 7-year-old son

‘TWO lives are gone, three families are destroyed and she gets 12 months — what sort of justice is that?’

Mehali’s grandfather Michael Pastrikos speaks to the media outside court after Andrea Groening was jailed for 12 months over the crash that killed him.

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A WOMAN who sped through a red light while drunk and high on cannabis causing a horror crash that killed her seven-year-old son will spend the next 12 months in jail.

Andrea Groening pleaded guilty to causing the death of her seven-year-old son Mehali Anastasios Pastrikos

Andrea Groening, 25, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to two counts of dangerous driving causing death and one count of dangerous driving causing serious harm following the crash in May last year which also killed her friend, Wade Williams and injured another man.

In handing Groening a head sentence of four years and two months in jail on Wednesday, to be suspended after 12 months, Justice Dean Mildren said her “moral culpability was high”.

“The court must impose a head sentence which reflects adequately the gravity of your moral responsibility, this is because of the number of people you put at risk (and) the extent of the injuries inflicted, including the fact that two people died as a result of the collision,” he said.

But speaking outside court after the sentencing, family members of seven-year-old Mehali Pastrikos said “justice wasn’t served”.

“Two lives are gone, three families are destroyed and she gets 12 months — what sort of justice is that?” John Zagorianos said.

“If you knew how it is to lose someone who we cherished, only then can you understand what grief we’re going through — this is a lifetime event for us and she gets 12 months.”

Mehali’s grandfather, Michael Pastrikos, said the sentence would “never be enough” after the “completely avoidable, selfish act that’s given us so much grief and suffering”.

“We’d like to thank the Darwin community for their support and prayers — and condolences to Wade’s family,” he said.

Family and friends of the crash victims outside the court after the sentencing of Andrea Groening

Prior to sentencing, Crown prosecutor Stephen Geary said deciding Groening’s fate would be a balancing act between punishment and the interests of her other two young children.

“On one hand you have the extraordinarily serious offending by the offender and all the consequences of that and on the other side there are two children,” he said.

“The community expectation is that home detention is not suitable, the family expectation is that home detention is not suitable and in some ways a term of actual imprisonment will hopefully take some of the heat out of the situation.

“There is obviously, with justification, a lot of anger towards the offender — I don’t think she’ll ever be forgiven but hopefully some of that anger will subside with time.”

The car was left a mangled wreck after the crash at the intersection of Tiger Brennan Drive and Berrimah Rd. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

Justice Mildren said Groening had “led a very tough life” since being born to her 19-year-old mother in prison and it was “remarkable that with your family history and background you have not exhibited more anti-social behaviour”.

“To say that you have had a difficult life would be an understatement,” he said.

“Your mother by (the time you were six) was a hard core drug user who would sleep for days. You were left to look after your brothers, prepare bottles of formula and bathe and dress them and put them to bed”.

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Justice Mildren said he accepted Groening was genuinely remorseful and would have to live with Mehali’s death for the rest of her life.

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