Latest news with #vehicularcrime
ABC News
6 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Speeding drunk driver who crashed into former Greens MP Amy MacMahon's car spared jail
A speeding drunk driver who crashed into then-Greens MP Amy MacMahon and left her with traumatic injuries has been spared jail time. On Friday Rani Paige Lowry was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court a month after pleading guilty to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing grievous bodily harm while being adversely affected by an intoxicating substance. She was handed a three-year sentence but was given immediate release on parole. During her sentencing hearing, the court heard the 27-year-old was almost four times over the legal alcohol limit when she was driving at Kangaroo Point in February 2024. At 6:30pm, she ran a red light and slammed into the former member for South Brisbane's car as it was turning at an intersection. Lowry, who was travelling 83 kilometres an hour in a 60kph zone when the two cars collided, did not engage her brakes at any time and had accelerated five seconds before the impact. Crown Prosecutor Luke Smoothy told the court Ms MacMahon suffered a traumatic head injury and spent more than two weeks in hospital, with some of that time in a coma. CCTV of the crash was played to the court showing Ms MacMahon's car being hit and spinning about 180 degrees, with other cars and pedestrians nearby. Lowry put her head down and wiped away tears when the video was shown. The court heard Lowry had no criminal history in Queensland but had convictions in New South Wales. In 2017, she was sentenced for driving at a mid-range alcohol level with a suspended licence. Her lawyer Jack Kennedy told the court his client relapsed into alcohol dependency after the death of her brother in the months before the crash and on the day, had been drinking with a friend to cope with isolation and depression. "She wasn't necessarily drinking for the thrill of it," he said. Mr Kennedy told the court Lowry, who had been at a licensed premises, chose to drink drive after becoming overwhelmed by social anxiety. "She describes having a panic attack and deciding to flee which is why she was driving at the time," he said. The court heard Ms MacMahon showed "great compassion" toward Lowry in her victim impact statement and offered her personal support to ensure she "never ever for the rest of your life do something like this again". "Justice for [Ms MacMahon] is Ms Lowry's genuine rehabilitation," Mr Smoothy said. When considering her punishment Judge David Kent KC told the court he gave "significant weight" to Ms MacMahon's views while also considering public safety on roads and adequate deterrence. "[Ms MacMahon] did not press for your imprisonment, and she says prisons can be counterproductive as a general statement of social research which no doubt has a sound basis," he said. Ms MacMahon, who lost her seat in last year's state election, was not in court for the sentencing.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man responsible for girl's death detained by ICE
A man who was residing in the country illegally was turned over to federal immigration authorities late last month. On Thursday evening, Lee County Sheriff Brian Estes confirmed the release of Josue H. Palacios, 41, to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Palacios, who had been living in the 200 block of Circle Road in Sanford prior to being jailed, was convicted of three misdemeanors on March 10 in the vehicle vs. pedestrian crash that claimed the life of Gabrielle Teresa Houston, 16, on June 3, 2023. Palacios was sentenced to 45 days in jail for his crimes by Superior Court Judge C. Winston Gilchrist. April 24 would have been his 45th day in jail. Lee County Magistrate Harry B. Stryffeler signed an order for the jail to hold Palacios 48 hours for ICE on April 23. On April 28, Gilchrist signed an order allowing Houston's mother, Lauren Houston Hedgepeth, to pick up her daughter's cell phone. Palacios was found not guilty of felony hit-and-run resulting in death, but was guilty of hit-and-run leaving the scene of property damage, a lesser offense, along with failure to report an accident and having no driver's license. Gabrielle Houston was found dead on Fire Tower Road in front of Southern Lee High School, according to a previous Sanford Herald report. Houston, who was a pedestrian, was struck from behind, and Palacios, who was arrested later that day, said he thought he hit a deer. According to a court document, at the time of his sentencing Palacios had three prior convictions for driving without a license, two in Wake County and one in Lee County from as far back as 2014, along with four violations for speeding or improper equipment. According to his bond release order dated June 5, 2023, Palacios had no ID. He was arrested June 3, 2023, and posted a $100,000 bond two days later by paying $9,000 for his release, according to a court document.
