Mother jailed for car crash that left son with large head wound

A guilt-ridden mum has been given a “wake up call” after rolling her car while drunk and leaving her son with a head wound that surgery couldn’t fully rejoin.

A PENGUIN mother will spend six months in jail as a “wake up call” after her son’s head was badly gashed open during a serious drunken car crash.

Supreme Court judge Gregory Geason said a term of imprisonment for Krishna Kali Brown couldn’t be avoided after she placed lives at risk by driving drunk and at excessive speed in August 2017.

While sentencing this week, Justice Geason said Brown, 44, drove home with her two sons after a night drinking with friends when she overshot a bend on Railton Rd into the gravel, rolling her car several times as she tried to steer back on track.

One of her sons, who was sitting in the passenger seat, suffered a 20cm laceration to his scalp and a gash in his elbow requiring surgery to close.

“There was an area in the middle of the scalp wound that could not be rejoined and it was dressed in the hope that it would heal over time. The size of this wound created a high risk of infection,” Justice Gregory Geason said.

Supreme Court judge Gregory Geason said Brown greviously injured her son and caused significant damage to the road. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE.

The car was badly damaged, leaving glass and debris strewn across the road with a 17.3m skid mark and a 2.1m gouge.

Brown, who was driving an estimated 94km/h in a 65km/h zone and had a blood alcohol reading of 0.179, initially denied she’d been driving.

But she confessed to police the following month, also admitting she was disqualified at the time after receiving a drink driving infringement notice.

Justice Geason said Brown, who is aged in her 40s, had longstanding issues with alcohol and five previous drink driving-related charges.

He said she tried to downplay the role of her drinking on the night in question by saying she didn’t feel affected when she chose to drive and partly blamed the accident on a moment of inattention while trying to tune her car radio.

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“While your record is a poor one, this is the first instance in respect of which serious consequences, such as injury to another, have resulted from your behaviour. Let it be a wake up call,” he said.

But the judge also accepted Brown’s guilt and remorse, that her relationship with her son had been impacted and that she’s endured anger within her community.

He also said she’d been in “limbo” as she waited to be sentenced with the matter “hanging over your head”.

Brown, who pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving, was jailed for 18 months with 12 months suspended.

She will also be subject to a community correction order for one year and disqualified from driving for two years upon her release.