A driver who killed her five-year-old niece and caused a heavily pregnant mother-to-be to suffer a stillbirth has been spared jail.
Chrystle Olivia Kemp, 27, was sentenced at Victoria’s County Court in Shepparton on Wednesday.
She previously pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing death and another charge of causing serious injury to a heavily pregnant Elodie Aldridge, in Shepparton East, on October 20, 2023.
Kemp had picked up her young niece Savannah without telling her sister before she drove through a stop sign and collided with two other cars.
Judge Geoffrey Chettle said Kemp’s injuries from the crash, including the fact he still needs crutches to walk, would make time in prison “unbearable.”
“It’s understandable that you want to be punished,” he said.
‘Rarely and exceptionally will a judge find it justified not to impose such a sentence. I think your case is one of those rare and exceptional cases.’
Judge Chettle further explained that although the crash had tragic consequences, the prison sentence did not appropriately reflect her culpability.
Chrystle Kemp, 27, pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing death and another charge of causing serious injury
Kemp’s niece Savannah, 5, was killed in the collision in Shepparton East, on October 20, 2023
‘The consequences if you don’t stop are catastrophic. “Two young lives have been needlessly lost, but nothing the court can do can change that,” the judge said.
“The tragic consequences of your actions cannot determine the punishment. Justice is not vengeful.
“Nothing this court can do to you will punish you as severely as it will punish you.”
However, prosecutor Phillip Teo said Kemp should be jailed because her moral culpability was increased by ignoring the legal requirement to place Savannah in her booster seat.
Kemp had picked Savannah up from preschool without telling her sister Bryana and took her to Dookie’s for the afternoon on the day of the accident.
But the youth was not wearing a full seat belt and was not in a booster seat; only a lap belt protected her as she sat in the rear passenger seat.
Judge Geoffrey Chettle said ‘two young lives were needlessly lost’ in the crash (scene pictured)
Kemp drove through a stop sign and collided with two other vehicles, slamming on his brakes for three and a half seconds before driving through the intersection of Old Dookie and Boundary Road.
Savannah suffered chest, leg and neck injuries severe enough to kill her on the spot.
Mrs Aldridge’s son Remi was stillborn 34 weeks after the collision.
Kemp was sentenced to two years’ community service and will have to carry out 250 hours of unpaid community work and complete programs including a road trauma course.