A woman whose dangerous driving while high on meth caused a collision killing beloved Brooloo mother-of-seven Kathleen Dennis and critically injuring Ms Dennis’s teenage son, has been sentenced to four years in jail.
A jury yesterday found 45-year-old apprentice hairdresser, Carla Anne Lutgenau, guilty of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and grievous bodily harm.
The jury heard in September 2022, Ms Lutgenau consumed meth before driving in the wrong lane of Kandanga Imbil Road at Imbil, south of Gympie.
Ms Lutgenau’s car collided head-on with a car coming in the opposite direction driven by Brooloo mother Kathleen Dennis with her son Luke.
56-year-old Ms Dennis died at the scene and Luke Dennis sustained multiple injuries including a brain injury.
Defendant had extensive criminal history
Today, the court heard of Ms Lutgenau’s criminal history which included shooting her brother in the stomach during a meth binge and dangerous driving in the wrong lane and side-swiping another car months before the fatal collision with Ms Dennis.
In sentencing, Justice Glen Cash told Ms Lutgenau: ‘You were grossly and culpably inattentive at the time of the collision.’
‘It is impossible for me to adequately describe the impact of your actions. The hole in the Dennis family’s lives will never be filled.’
In his Victim Impact Statement, Kathleen’s husband, Steve Dennis, told Ms Lutgenau and the court that ‘this event has destroyed my life’.
After his wife was killed and his son critically injured in the car crash, Mr Dennis retired from working as an equine veterinarian and ceased his internationally significant PhD research.
‘Kathleen shone a light on our life and was revered in the community as someone who would often perform thoughtful acts of kindness to friends and strangers. Losing her is unfathomable,’ Mr Dennis said.
Kathleen and Steve Dennis PHOTO: supplied
Questions about impact of meth on driving
While the jury found Ms Lutgenau guilty of dangerous driving causing death and grievous bodily harm, she was acquitted of a separate charge of dangerous driving causing death and grievous bodily harm ‘while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance’.
Justice Cash instructed the jury not to find the defendant guilty of being ‘adversely affected by an intoxicating substance’ unless they could find ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that methamphetamine caused her dangerous driving.
Outside the court, Mr Dennis said the fact that the jury could not find Ms Lutgenau’s driving was adversely affected by consumption of meth suggested the legal system needed updating.
‘The idea she can consume ice (meth) just prior to driving, cause a fatal crash and not be considered affected by that drug, is hard to understand,’ Mr Dennis said.
‘If it was a high blood alcohol reading, there’d be no question that she was affected. It’s urgent that a similar system to that applied to blood alcohol levels is determined because currently there’s a loophole.’
Meth use increasing
In August this year, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) released its latest wastewater report, revealing an increase in consumption of major illicit drugs in Australia.
The report found in the past year, consumption of methamphetamine increased by 21 per cent.
ACIC CEO Heather Cook said: ‘The 2.2 tonne increase in national meth consumption is concerning… and the drug causes significant community harm’.
Mr Dennis said laws measuring the adverse impact of meth on drivers needed reviewing: ‘…because what happened to our family could happen again and other families could go through what my family has gone through’.
Family friend and community leader, Ian Mackay, said the Mary Valley community was deeply affected by the death of Kathleen Dennis, who made a deep and positive impression on many people.
‘Kathleen’s sudden death reverberated around the community for she was involved in so many things: home-schooling mum, musician, choir member, dancer, singer, water-tester, gardener, passionate weeder and bush regenerator but most particularly a great friend and inspiration to so many,’ Mr Mackay said.
PHOTO of Kathleen Dennis in sunhat at top of story supplied by the Dennis family.
