A Tumbi Umbi truck driver involved in a crash at Dunedoo in which a woman was thrown from her car and killed has avoided jail time after pleading guilty to a charge of negligent driving occasioning death.
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Luke Shannon, 44, was driving east along the Golden Highway just before 10am on May 25 last year when Joanne Hanrahan pulled out in front of Shannon's truck as she re-entered the highway after filling up her Daihatsu Terios at the Dunedoo Caltex Service Station.
Documents tendered to Mudgee Local Court reveal Shannon, who first appeared for the charge on August 18 last year, did not slow his vehicle down to leave an appropriate gap between his truck and Ms Hanrahan's vehicle.
When she stopped to turn right into Fairfield Lane, Shannon was unable to stop his truck in time and ploughed into the rear left side of her vehicle.
Ms Hanrahan's car spun into the westbound lane and rolled over and over for a distance of 46 metres, the court was told.
Ms Hanrahan, despite wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the car through the rear right side window.
Shannon managed to free himself from the wreckage of his truck and approached Ms Hanrahan's vehicle but could not immediately locate her.
Other motorists stopped to assist, and together with Shannon, they discovered Ms Hanrahan a short time later. She was still alive, breathing sporadically when found, but died before paramedics arrived at the scene, court documents said.
Shannon told attending police that Ms Hanrahan's car was "all over the road and then all of a sudden she went to turn".
"There was no indicator, I tried to brake but I had nowhere to go," he said.
Tests taken at Dunedoo Hospital found no traces of drugs or alcohol in Shannon's blood, the court heard.
During sentencing in Mudgee Local Court on May 18, Magistrate John McIntosh described the case as "terribly sad".
"I don't know about other magistrates but I find these types of cases some of the most difficult to deal with," Magistrate McIntosh said.
The court heard from Shannon's lawyer that he would never return to being a truck driver. It was a role he held for approximately 18 months before the accident.
Shannon was sentenced to a nine-month intensive correction order with the condition he perform 100 hours of unpaid community service work.
He was also disqualified from driving for two years.
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Jay-Anna Sleeman
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
