Disability carer who killed her client in 'terrible accident' given suspended sentence
Mahnoor Malik was sentenced in the Adelaide Magistrates Court. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
In short:
Mahnoor Malik was driving her client in an unfamiliar large van when she took a turn late and lost control, killing her client, near Victor Harbor in September last year.
Grandmother Debbie Johnston, who had been secured in her wheelchair in the rear of the van, was on her first family holiday in years when she died.
What's next?
Malik was convicted, fined and placed on a good-behaviour bond, after a 26-day prison term was suspended. She was also banned from driving for another month.
A disability care worker who "lost control" and mistakenly accelerated instead of braking when she misjudged a turn — killing her client and injuring her co-worker — has been given a suspended sentence for the "terrible accident".
Mahnoor Malik, 21, previously pleaded guilty to charges of causing death by careless use of a motor vehicle, and aggravated driving without due care, over the crash which killed grandmother Debbie Johnston near Victor Harbor, south of Adelaide, in September last year.
Her co-worker, who was a passenger in the car, was also injured.
In sentencing in the Adelaide Magistrates Court, Magistrate John Clover said it was agreed Malik had "unintentionally" applied "the accelerator rather than the brakes" in the moments before the crash at the intersection of Port Elliot and Ocean roads on September 22.
He said Malik had been driving Ms Johnston — who required 24-hour care and used a wheelchair for mobility — in a "large van" with her colleague in the passenger seat when the crash occurred.
Mr Clover said Malik had "limited experience" driving large vehicles and was "driving cautiously and below the speed limit at about 55kph" when she realised too late that she had approached the intersection where she planned to turn.
Mahnoor Malik made "frank admissions" to police when she was interviewed after the crash.
He said she did not have time to brake as she turned the corner.
"Having lost control of the vehicle [as] you attempted to turn the corner, you mistakenly applied the accelerator when you intended to apply the brakes.
"As a result of you having misjudged the turn, losing control and then applying the accelerator you did not complete the turn."
Instead, Mr Clover said the van drove across the intersection and mounted the kerb, ploughing into vegetation and crashing into a tree.
He said branches had "pierced" the vehicle.
Malik was not physically injured but Mr Clover said she collapsed in distress at what had occurred.
She was arrested the following day, and Mr Clover said she made "frank admissions" to police and had pleaded guilty in court at the first opportunity.
'Much-loved wife, mother and grandmother'
He said the devastating death of Ms Johnston as a result of the crash had previously been eloquently described in a victim impact statement read to the court.
At that hearing, the court heard she had a stroke a decade earlier and was on a long-awaited family holiday at the time.
"Ms Johnston was a much-loved wife, mother and grandmother," Mr Clover said.
"The sentence to be imposed cannot adequately reflect the value of Ms Johnston's life, nor the impact her death has had on the family."
In sentencing, Mr Clover said Malik's offending fell under new laws which increased maximum penalties for careless driving which causes death.
"A purpose of the increased maximum penalty for an offence that causes death is to deter others from driving without due care in order to reduce the risk of death or serious injury caused by careless driving," he said.
Malik 'deeply remorseful'
He said Malik, who was in Australia on a student visa from Pakistan and studying psychology, was "deeply remorseful" and "unlikely to drive without due care again".
"You are, and continue to be, a person of good character — that is not altered by this matter or by any sentence I might impose,"he said.
"For my part, I make clear that I do not consider the present matter ought to negatively affect your career and migration goals."
Malik was convicted of both offences and sentenced to 26 days imprisonment for causing the death of Ms Johnston, but that term was suspended upon her agreeing to enter a bond to be of good behaviour for 12 months.
Magistrate Clover did not impose a term of imprisonment, but rather a fine of $360, for the offence of driving without due care, for the harm caused to her colleague.
She also lost her licence, which had been immediately suspended after the crash, for another month.