A mother who lost her unborn baby in a crash has received a major conviction after the teenage driver responsible avoided arrest, saying it was ‘not enough’.
An emotional Haylee Loccisano expressed her frustration outside court after the 17-year-old girl was given community service and a driving ban under new laws for the fatal crash.
The girl pleaded guilty at Ipswich Children’s Court on Tuesday to driving without due care, causing Mrs Loccisano grievous bodily harm and destroying the life of her unborn baby Celeste.
The 17-year-old’s conviction marked the first use of Sophie’s Law in Queensland.
The state parliament passed the law in September 2023 to make killing an unborn baby an aggravating factor in sentencing offenders.
It followed years of campaigning by Sarah Milosevic, who lost her unborn baby at 39 weeks after a drunk and drug-affected driver crashed into her car in 2014 and was later fined.
Ms Milosevic was present at Tuesday’s sentencing and was not happy about it either. She claimed the teen “got away with it.”
Ms Loccisano, then aged 24, was 25 weeks pregnant and a passenger in a Toyota Hilux commercial vehicle driven by her mother Teresa Burn on May 16, 2024 in Purga, west of Brisbane.
Haylee Loccisano expressed her frustration outside court after the 17-year-old driver who caused the crash that killed her unborn baby was given community service and banned from driving
The teenager was driving a Toyota RAV4 when she drove into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with the Toyota Hilux utility in which Ms Loccisano was a passenger (pictured)
The teenage girl was driving a Toyota RAV4 and, during a moment of inattention, drove into oncoming traffic, causing a head-on collision with the Hilux.
Attempts to save Celeste via caesarean section failed and Ms Loccisano spent the next eight days in intensive care with serious abdominal injuries that required several surgeries.
Reading her victim impact statement to the court, Ms Loccisano said Celeste was her miracle rainbow baby after she was told she could not get pregnant.
“She was taken from me by a reckless driver… having her taken from me in that way affected me in a way that is hard to describe,” she said.
‘I remember every little detail of the accident. I remember the fear that filled my body… my baby suddenly stopped moving.”
Ms Loccisano said her extensive scarring was a daily reminder of her loss and she suffered constant physical and mental health problems.
Outside court, Ms Loccisano said she felt “not good” about the sentence.
“It wasn’t enough for the life that was taken,” she said.
Ms. Loccisano spent eight days in intensive care with serious abdominal injuries that required several surgeries
Ms Loccisano, then 24 years old, was 25 weeks pregnant and attempts to save her unborn daughter Celeste by caesarean section failed
Acting Magistrate Sue Ganasan sentenced the teenager to 100 hours of community service and disqualified her from holding a license for six months without a conviction recorded.
The maximum sentence the teenager could receive was one year in prison.
“There is no escaping the fact that any sentence I impose will still leave the parties dealing with the tragic consequences of what happened,” Ms Ganasan said.
The teenager’s lawyer, James Godbolt, said outside court that his client was “obviously very remorseful.”
“It’s a terrible tragedy and nothing can make up for it,” he said.
After years of campaigning for Sophie’s Law, Milosevic called for more change after attending Tuesday’s historic sentencing.
She called for minimum custodial sentences for offenses involving Sophie’s Law.
“(Tennis duty) is a free ride. I don’t think she’ll learn anything from that,” she said outside court about the teenage driver.
“As far as I’m concerned, she got away with it.”