Qld: Judge refuses to lift driving ban on woman

AAP General News (Australia)
02-15-2007
Qld: Judge refuses to lift driving ban on woman

By Daniel Pace

GOLD COAST, Feb 15 AAP - A Queensland judge has refused to lift a lifetime driving
ban on a woman he sent to jail over the road death of a nine-year-old girl.

In the Southport District Court today, Judge John Newton rejected an application by
Christie Morgan, who served two-and-a-half years in prison for killing Teena-Lea Harris
while driving a car under the influence of butane gas on the Gold Coast in August 2001.

"At this time I cannot accept it's proper to make an order to reinstate Ms Morgan's
licence due to the serious nature of the offence," Mr Newton said.

"I have formed the view that this application should be refused."

Morgan, 24, of Alexandra Hills in Brisbane, did not appear in court for the decision.

The then 18-year-old was sniffing butane moments before losing control of the car she
was driving and ploughing into 11 pedestrians on a busy Surfers Paradise footpath, killing
Teena-Lea and injuring several others.

Mr Newton sentenced Morgan in 2002 to six-and-a-half years' jail after describing her
actions as a "combination of sheer stupidity and an arrogant and wilful disregard".

Although Mr Newton rejected the application to lift Ms Morgan's lifetime driving ban
today, she will be allowed under state law to reapply for her licence in another 12 months.

Ms Morgan, who has a four-year-old daughter Olivia, applied to get her licence back
in April last year, arguing that poor public transport in her suburb restricted her opportunities
as a casual worker in aged care.

"We're happy with the outcome," said prosecutor Wayne Kelly, acting on behalf of Queensland
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson, outside court.

New details of the horrific case emerged in court today when Mr Newton outlined his decision.

It was revealed Morgan had been sniffing butane gas while she was driving just 200m
before the intersection where she crashed her car.

She had also been sniffing gas at a residence earlier that day.

The vehicle was airborne when it struck 11 pedestrians, trees and a bench as it travelled
32 metres before smashing into the rear of a parked van.

An eyewitness estimated Ms Morgan's car had been travelling about 50km/h when she lost control.

"Her conduct after the incident occurred was reprehensible," Mr Newton said today,
pointing out that Ms Morgan had falsely claimed she had swerved to miss a blue vehicle.

Ms Morgan was earlier charged with perverting the cause of justice for fabricating
the story about the blue car, which added another six months to her jail sentence.

AAP djp/cf/srp/de

KEYWORD: MORGAN NIGHTLEAD

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.