Mother relives moment she heard drug-driver cause crash that killed ‘the light of my life’

A teenage drug-driver was looking at his mobile phone when he veered into oncoming traffic and caused the crash that killed 24-year-old Stephanie Shoben-Franklin, a court has heard.

• Loved ones pay tribute to young crash victim Stephanie Shoben-Franklin

UPDATE 2.30PM: THE teenager who caused the death of 24-year-old Stephanie Shoben-Franklin when he crashed into her car in Knuckey Lagoon last year will spend seven months behind bars.

In setting a head sentence of three years, Justice Peter Barr said while he was still a youth at the time of the crash and had a clean record his driving was “objectively very dangerous”.

“Once a young person obtains a driving licence he or she has adult responsibilities and has a very high duty of care to other drivers, indeed to all road users,” he said.

EARLIER: A TEENAGE drug-driver was looking at his mobile phone when he veered into oncoming traffic and caused the crash that killed 24-year-old Stephanie Shoben-Franklin, a court has heard.

The now 18-year-old, who cannot be named under NT law, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to dangerous driving causing death after crashing head on into Ms Shoben-Franklin’s car on October 17 last year.

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The court heard the teenager had been smoking cannabis that morning and was distracted by changing a song on his phone at the time of the crash, which happened 10 days before his 18th birthday.

In an emotional victim impact statement, Ms Shoben-Franklin’s mother, Sachiko Shoben, described being on the phone to her daughter the moment her “whole world fell apart”.

“I heard your car crash into her car,” she said.

“I relive hearing that crash daily.”

Stephanie Shoben-Franklin was killed in a crash on McMillans Rd in October 2020.

Ms Shoben said her son then drove her to the scene of the crash where a bystander stopped her from approaching the car.

“I was not allowed to hold my baby girl’s hand while she passed away,” she said.

“You destroyed my world.”

In calling for the court to impose the maximum penalty, Ms Shoben said her daughter had dreamt of becoming a paramedic before her life was cut short.

“Stephanie was the kindest, funniest and most intelligent person I ever met, she was the light of my life,” she said.

“She would still be alive today if you had been watching the road instead of looking at your phone.

“No text message or music change is more important than someone else’s life.”

The teen’s lawyer, Nicola MacCarron, said her client was “extremely sorry and extremely remorseful for what happened” and reluctant for her to make submissions to the court on his behalf.

“In saying that, however, he acknowledges and in his own words says that ‘sorry doesn’t fix anything, nothing I can say will make it better’,” she said.

“He feels that in my saying things about him, the family of the victim will think that he’s trying to make himself out to be a victim himself and he’s not.

“He takes full responsibility for what happened, he acknowledges that it was entirely his own wrongdoing and he’s not trying to shift any blame, nor is he trying to make anyone feel sorry for him.”

Justice Peter Barr will sentence the boy on Tuesday afternoon.

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