Sentencing judge not told driver who killed mother of two faced second drug charge

Prosecutors say they were unaware an alleged drug driver who killed a mother-of-two was charged again before sentencing.

Michael Cuthbert and daughters Shylah, 11, and Makayla, 13, in front of a memorial to Sharon in their garden. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Prosecutors have claimed they were unaware that an alleged ­drug-driver who killed a Queensland mother of two was again charged with drug-driving before ­sentencing.

Sharon Cuthbert was hit by a truck outside her home at Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast at 5pm on July 27, 2017.

She had just returned from work, dying in front of her husband, Michael Cuthbert. He had raced out after hearing the crash and found her lying on the road.

Andrew David Muirhead pleaded guilty in the District Court to dangerous driving causing death and was sentenced in February this year to 3½ years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of one year. A roadside drug test indicated the presence of methamphetamine in Muirhead’s system after he killed Cuthbert, and police charged him with the additional offence of drug-driving.

That charge was not dealt with at the time he was sentenced for dangerous driving causing death, for reasons that have not been ­explained.

Judge Richard Jones also wasn’t informed that before sentencing, Muirhead — who was allowed to keep driving — was again charged with drug-driving in Aug­ust last year, just over a year after killing Cuthbert.

Sharon with Michael, Shylah and Makayla around 2015. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

The charge, involving a substance that has not been revealed, emerged in the weeks after Muirhead’s sentencing, when mentioned in the Magistrates Court.

Cuthbert’s father, Jack Angelo, said he immediately asked Director of Public Prosecutions Michael Byrne QC why Judge Jones wasn’t told of the new drug-driving charge.

“He told me, ‘We didn’t know about it — I only found out about it this morning, the same as you did’,” Mr Angelo said yesterday.

“He said, ‘The police prose­cutors didn’t tell us’.”

Both drug-driving charges are due back in court this month.

Muirhead’s traffic record included 18 speeding fines, driving while disqualified and three counts of drink-driving. He was on his second special hardship ­licence, granted by a magistrate, due to accumulation of demerit points. Mr Cuthbert said repeat traffic offenders were getting “too many chances”.

“People can just be absolutely appalling on the road, but our judicial system will just keep giving them more chances. That needs to change,” Mr Cuthbert said.

“As it is now, nothing happens to them. There’s just a bad attitude with a lot of drivers on safety and their regard to other road users.”

Muirhead was also caught speeding again, in January last year, six months after the fatal crash, receiving a $168 fine. Judge Jones was told of that charge.

In the 12 years to July 2017, the longest sentence for dangerous driving causing death in Queensland was nine years’ imprisonment, despite a 14-year maximum.

Driving an Isuzu tip-truck, towing a woodchipper, Muirhead had 7.6 seconds and 105m on a straight and level road, on a clear and fine day, to see Sharon Cuthbert’s white Mitsubishi Pajero parked on the side of the road before he crashed into the side of it.

Cuthbert, 39, standing near the driver’s door, suffered fractures to all ribs, her sternum and several vertebrae and major injuries to her heart and lungs.

Her family says mishandling of the case by police and prosecutors compounded their grief and contributed to a grossly inadequate sentence.

Muirhead, now 41, had a blood-alcohol reading of .037 but prosecutors did not allege drugs or alcohol contributed to the death of Cuthbert, who worked at Noosa council.

There was evidence his mobile phone rang seconds before the crash, but he could offer no explanation for what occurred.

Cuthbert’s family gathered more than 7500 signatures calling for an appeal against Muirhead’s sentence and were supported by the state opposition after repeatedly being told it wasn’t going to happen.

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath launched the appeal late on the final day that it could be filed. It is due to be heard later this year.

Muirhead has launched an appeal, seeking a reduced sentence.