Jayden Lindsay Ainslie pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death

On meth and behind the wheel of a Ford he’d stolen from a charity, an “extremely reckless” driver swerved into the path of a beloved Qld nurse as she drove to work. She never stood a chance.

Jayden Lindsay Ainslie has been sentenced for causing the crash which killed a beloved nurse.

A father of three was on meth and had been speeding and overtaking other cars when he caused the crash that killed a beloved wife, mother and Ozcare nurse.

Jayden Lindsay Ainslie, 26, pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay District Court on Tuesday to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance while excessively speeding, possessing dangerous drugs, and wearing of approved seatbelts by drivers, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and driving unlicensed.

Ainslie was driving a stolen Ford Escape on Booral Rd, Sunshine Acres when he crashed into a car carrying Christine Lyness, 39, a mum of two and much-loved wife and nurse in March 2024.

Ms Lyness was on her way to work when the crash happened, and she died at the scene.

Judge Jennifer Rosengren took the unusual step of addressing Ms Lyness’ family, including her husband Andrew, when court proceedings began on Tuesday.

“Can I just start by saying to you all – I’m so incredibly sorry,” she said.

“I sit in court rooms a lot and have for many, many years and I’ve got to say this is one of the most difficult things, sentences, to sit through.

Jayden Lindsay Ainslie pleaded guilty over a fatal crash which claimed the live of a local nurse and mother.

“It’s just tragic for everyone involved, and obviously no sentence I impose will bring back this lady who meant so much to you all.”

Ms Rosengren told the family there was a lot she would need to weigh up in sentencing Ainslie.

Crown prosecutor Michael Gawrych said Ainslie had taken the car involved in the crime from a charity organisation the day before.

“The dangerous driving was not the product of poor Judgement or distraction – it was deliberate and extremely reckless,” he said.

The offending had taken place over a protracted period over about 15.4km, and he had travelled up to 170km/h during that time.

That included one instance of him reaching 133km/h in a 60km/h zone, Mr Gawrych said.

Beloved nurse, wife and mum Christine Lyness, with husband Andrew Lyness, was killed in a horror crash at Sunshine Acres.

Just prior to the crash, Ainslie was travelling at 145km/h in a 100km/h zone and at the point of collision it was 123km/h.

There had been no attempt to brake until 0.2 seconds before the crash, according to data from the car, Mr Gawrych said.

The car had also been fitted with a spare tyre with a recommendation that it not be driven over 80km/h and that tyre had been fitted after Ainslie got in it, Mr Gawrych said.

Before the crash Ainslie had also been tailgating and overtaking other drivers.

Beloved wife and mother Christine Lyness.

The crash happened in Ms Lyness’ lane and she’d had no opportunity to avoid the impact, Mr Gawrych said.

The force of the collision had pushed her car off the road by a distance of about 12 metres.

Mr Gawrych said Ainslie did not attempt to get help and at the time he lied and told police he was the passenger in the stolen vehicle, leading to police bringing in police dogs and other emergency services.

“He attempted to shift the blame to an unknown person,” he said.

Two and a half hours after the crash, Ainslie had returned a mid to high range result for meth in his system, which would have “severely” impacted his ability to operate the vehicle, Mr Gawrych said, telling the court Ainslie also had 0.118 grams of pure meth on him at the time.

Beloved nurse, wife and mum Christine Lyness was killed in a horror crash at Sunshine Acres.

Ainslie had not been wearing a seatbelt, was driving while disqualified and would not give police the pin to access his phone in the aftermath of the crash.

Ms Lyness’ husband Andrew addressed the court, reading aloud his moving victim impact statement where he recalled the devastating moment, he had to identify her “broken body” and the daily tears he had shared since, raising the children who had to drive past the crash site on their way to school.

The court heard Ainslie had written a letter of apology to Ms Lyness’ family displaying genuine remorse.

A number of references emphasised his remorse and his positive attributes.

Ainslie had the support of his family and his partner.

He was a father of three, the court heard, and he’d had a longstanding problem with drugs.

Ainslie had previously been on probation but had performed poorly.

A report showed Ainslie had a prejudicial upbringing and he had started taking drugs when he was 14 and ironically, had lost a friend and a cousin in separate car crashes.

Ainslie had previously worked in the tiling industry with his father and as a handyman.

At the time of the offending, he had been experiencing relationship stress with his partner and had started taking meth again.

On his release he planned to work and to be a family man, the court heard.

He had been completing courses while in prison and was on waiting lists for substance abuse courses.

The scene of a horror fatal crash on Booral Rd at Sunshine Acres.

Judge Rosengren said the tragic impact of Ainslie’s offending was “nothing short of extreme” and no sentence could bring Ms Lyness back.

She said Ainslie had complained of slight ankle pain after the crash and claimed the driver had fled the scene, causing police and police dogs to search the area.

“Of course there was no evidence of other suspects, because it was you,” Ms Rosengren said.

She described the crash as being “completely avoidable”.

“This is something that a family never recovers from,” she said.

The court heard Ainslie had spent 414 days in presentence custody.

Ainslie was given a head sentence of nine years in prison and no parole eligibility date was set, with the 26-year-old required to serve at least half of the sentence before he could be considered for parole.

He was absolutely disqualified from driving.

Originally published as Jayden Lindsay Ainslie pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death