Teen jailed for causing crash that killed mother-of-three, seriously injured two others

A TEENAGER who drove drunk and caused a crash that killed a mother-of-three and seriously injured two men has been sentenced to almost two years in prison.

A teenager who drove drunk and caused a crash that killed a mother-of-three and seriously injured two men has been sentenced to almost two years in prison. Picture: IStock

A TEENAGER who drove drunk and caused a crash that killed a mother-of-three and seriously injured two men has been sentenced to almost two years in prison.

Martin Shields, 18, sat in the dock of the Darwin Supreme Court yesterday while being sentenced for one count of dangerous driving causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing serious harm.

The court heard Shields was serving a suspended sentence for a conviction of attempted rape when he caused the crash in Livingstone in January 2019.

The court heard Shields and his passengers had been drinking all day while they drove around Darwin and the rural area when Shields began to drive erratically, prompting his passengers to tell him to stop and slow down.

He began driving on the Stuart Hwy towards Katherine when one of his passengers tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to turn around before the car left the road, spun out, rolled and landed on its roof on top of a metal pipe.

MORE CRIME AND COURT NEWS

WorkSafe ‘working’ to prevent recurrence of Harry Evans tragedy

Large group of youths throw rocks at cars, buildings

Road train driver high on meth loses bid to stay on the road

A 30-year-old woman suffered blunt force head and chest injuries and died at the scene.

The two male victims, aged 43 and 19, each suffered a number of serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury and spinal fractures.

A pregnant woman, who was the only passenger wearing a seatbelt, was not seriously injured.

Shields, who recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.112 about three hours after the crash, suffered a broken collarbone and head injuries.

During sentencing, Justice Stephen Southwood told the court Shields had a longstanding problem with alcohol abuse, and had been kicked out of rehab on two separate occasions for drinking and taking drugs.

But, Shields’ lawyer Marty Aust said his client was committed to rehabilitating as his partner had become pregnant with their child while he was on bail and his mother had been diagnosed with cancer.

Amazing new NT News subscription offer: $1 a week for the first 12 weeks

“Prison is particularly difficult for him at the moment because he knows there’s two … life-changing events he is now unable to have any control over,” Mr Aust said.

Shields was sentenced to three years prison, including the restoration of prison time for his previous offence, suspended after 21 months.