A Queensland novice driver who drove recklessly and severely injured a toddler’s brain has been sentenced to at least a year in prison.
In the afternoon of November 28, 2021, Madison Lorraine McKenzie, 23, of Redcliffe, was allegedly speeding while operating without a supervising driver and had a blood alcohol content of.08 on Monday.
A two-year-old kid, his parents, and his elder brother were riding bikes beside Georgina Street in the Woody Point neighborhood on the coast north of Brisbane.
At about 4.10 p.m., the kid tried to cross the street while steering his front wheel into the gutter, despite his parents’ pleas for him to halt.
The youngster was hit by McKenzie, who had just pulled onto the road in a white Toyota Corolla hatchback traveling between 61 and 68 kilometers per hour in a 50-kilometer zone.
The youngster suffered a severe brain injury, broken ribs, and a shattered femur, leaving him frothing at the mouth.
McKenzie raced back after stopping around 200 meters down the road.
“I’m very sorry,” she said. I dropped my phone and when I picked it up, I failed to see him. Is he still breathing? At the scene, she stated.
McKenzie admitted guilt to risky driving resulting in great bodily injury, driving while intoxicated below the legal limit, and driving unaccompanied as a trainee last year.
Cameron Wilkins, the crown prosecutor, said that the road was in excellent condition and that there was no traffic at the time, with McKenzie’s back to the sun.
The mother of the youngster told the court in her victim impact statement that her son’s potential had been “destroyed.”
Until November 2021, she said, “I was enjoying the best of times with two wonderful, healthy young sons, my husband, and an excellent career.”
“All of it came tumbling down.” He is unable to speak, walk, or use the restroom independently any more. If his life is not cut short as I have been informed it may be, he will need care around-the-clock for the duration of it due to his numerous seizures.
Penny White, McKenzie’s attorney, claimed that her client had drug and alcohol problems, had no past criminal convictions or moving violations, promptly admitted causing the crash, and had post traumatic stress disorder as a consequence.
Reaching for her phone while distracted and with her eyes off the road, she said, is the main cause that seems to have contributed to the accident.
McKenzie was given a four-year jail term and a five-year driving ban by District Court Chief Judge Brian Devereaux, who described her offense as more than simply a moment of carelessness.
Judge Devereaux said, “No amount of punishment for you is going to make the kid well or lessen the burden on the family.”
“This was an extremely significant instance of risky automobile operating.” You will unavoidably serve time in prison.
McKenzie’s date of parole eligibility was set by Judge Devereaux for February 2024.
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