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A woman is currently in jail after knocking down a cyclist while trying to change radio station. The cyclist lost his life due to the accident.
Emma Kent, 24, killed the cyclist and father of two after taking her eyes off the road to change radio stations has been jailed for nine months.
She pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death over her role in the collision which killed 57-year-old Gareth Davies in Macedon, in central Victoria, in December last year.
The County Court heard the smash happened when Kent was using bluetooth to change music on her radio.
Kent admitted this had distracted her from the road before she collided with Mr Davies from behind.
“I was flicking through the channels for a song, and then there was nothing on and that’s when I was changing the radio stations,” Judge Susan Pullen told the court in sentencing, quoting Kent’s police interview.
“I obviously wasn’t looking on the road when I was doing it this time,” Kent told police.
The court heard Kent did not see the cyclist but was familiar with the road, Black Forest Drive, and knew that there were often cyclists around.
“You could not explain how your vehicle came to be outside the fog line,” Judge Pullen said in sentencing.
“There was no physical evidence at the scene that indicated pre-impact emergency braking.”
Judge Pullen sentenced her to nine months in prison, followed by a two-year community corrections order and ordered her to perform 100 hours of unpaid community work and take part in a driver awareness course.
Kent sounded upset when she spoke in court, stating that she understood the terms of the community corrections order.
“Obviously it’s a distressing time and I’m not expecting her to take it in completely,” Judge Pullen said after she revealed Kent’s fate.
Kent had no prior convictions and was a fully licensed driver in a roadworthy vehicle, driving below the speed limit.
The court heard she was driving on the correct side of road and without drugs and alcohol in her system and had not been driving erratically before the smash.
Kent remained at the scene and the court heard she made efforts to call emergency services.
The judge took into account her early guilty plea and her remorse.
Source: ABC NEWS
