Drink driver given suspended sentence over grandmother's hit-run death

Mary Kathleen Kelly should be on a plane, on the way to visit one of her 15 grandchildren dotted around the world.

Instead, on Wednesday, her name was being uttered by a Magistrate in a Gold Coast courtroom.

The 83-year-old US citizen and mother of five died in March 2024 after being hit by a car driven by Jack William Arthur Yates at Tugun, near the Queensland-New South Wales border.

Yates, 31, was drink driving and had a blood alcohol level of 0.125 when he hit Ms Kelly, who was walking home from a church service.

While he initially stopped, he later left the scene.

A week after he pleaded guilty to driving without due care causing death, driving while over the middle alcohol limit, and failing to remain at an incident and render assistance, Yates was handed a 12-month prison term, wholly suspended for two years, meaning he will avoid prison.

Driver feels remorse and 'self-disgust'

In sentencing, Magistrate Kerry Magee noted how serious the offending was.

"So many people have suffered significantly as a result of your conduct on that day and the repercussions of that behaviour will echo for decades to come," Magistrate Magee said.

The court heard prior to the crash, Yates had been seeing a psychiatrist since November 2022 for depression, anxiety, and alcohol and cannabis use.

He had no prior criminal history or prior offences involving alcohol.

A pre-sentence report provided by psychiatrist Philip Morris stated in the weeks prior to the accident, Yates lost 15 kilograms in weight following an infection.

"Professor Morris expressed the opinion that your responsibility was diminished by reason of your pre-existing psychiatric disorder, your recent significant medical illness … which contributed to fatigue, reduced physical capacity and impaired attention," Magistrate Magee said.

"He expressed the opinion that your flight from the scene was not consistent with an intention to evade responsibility.

She said Yates had developed post-traumatic stress disorder following the crash, experiencing symptoms such as flashbacks and panic attacks.

"You have provided a letter to the family of Ms Kelly in which you express your remorse, your shame and your self-disgust," she said.

Magistrate Magee cited Yates's guilty plea, his mental health and remorse as mitigating factors in his sentence, but recorded convictions against him and disqualified him from driving for six months.

'A force of life'

For Ms Kelly's family, Yates's sentence offers little release from their sense of loss and grief.

In victim impact statements tendered to the Southport Magistrates Court, Ms Kelly's daughters told of the physical and emotional torment their mother's death has had on them.

"My mom was a force of life who loved, protected, cheered, and counselled her family," Kerry Kelly, the eldest of Ms Kelly's children, wrote from her home on the outskirts of Chicago in the US.

Kate Kelly, who submitted her victim impact statement from her home in Dublin, Ireland, wrote she had been unable to forget the horrible details of the accident that claimed her mother's life.

"I am constantly recalled to her, roadside, by everyday images and sounds of those moments: blue lights, sirens, flashlights … phone alarms, loud bangs, ziplock bags, etc," she wrote.

Mary Kathleen Kelly's youngest daughter Meg Kelly, who the 83-year-old was visiting on the Gold Coast at the time of the accident, wrote that her mother's death had been "all-consuming".

"I have been robbed of the one person I could be fully vulnerable with, the one person I could fully trust; the one person I could turn to with no hesitation," she wrote.

Meg Kelly detailed her mother's regular adventures around the world and her efforts to stay connected to her children and grandchildren.

"She lived for those kids. She travelled around the world all year round to be with them … in Ireland, Alaska, California, the East Coast of America, Chicago and of course here in Australia," she said.

'No winners'

In a statement provided after the sentencing, Meg Kelly said the impact of the case had devastated her entire family, and Yates's family too.

"There are no winners here today," she said. "

"Moving forward, we can only hope others will see the irreversible damage Mr Yates's regrettable and deadly decision to get behind the wheel after drinking has caused both families."