A P-plate driver who made a deadly mistake that left her beloved sister dead in a horror Melbourne car crash has wept during her sentence.
Nikkita-Lee Wells from Narre Warren was 17 when she died in the crash on Stud Rd at Rowville in February 2019.
Her elder sister, Mikayla, 23, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in Victoria’s County Court and was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order on Thursday.
During thexjmtzyw sentence the young woman wiped her eyes with tears and sat next to her mother on the video link.
“You were deeply traumatised and grief stricken that your driving caused your sister’s death,” Judge Gerard Mullaly said.
At the time of the crash, Wells was driving a sedan with her sister in the back and a friend in the front passenger seat to a popular market that morning.
She was 20 and on her P-plates driving a “supercharged” Holden Commodore when she changed from the right lane to the centre lane without indicating.
“But worse was to come,” Judge Mullaly said.
She again veered left into a bus lane but failed to see another car behind her and her rear passenger side crashed into the other driver’s side door at about 82km/h.
The court was told the other driver – and his friend in a separate car – were driving in a “dangerous” way both in terms of speed and manoeuvres.
Both cars lost control and hit a grass verge, with Wells’ car slamming into a power pole, splitting the car in two.
The 17-year-old girl died at the scene despite her elder sister performing CPR.
The judge said it was a “momentary mistake” in how Wells changed lanes but it led to a tragedy.
“(It) can set off a chain of catastrophe as it did here leading to lifelong grief,” Judge Mullaly said.
The crash could have been avoided with due care, he added.
He took into account Wells’ profound grief, the trauma the crash had upon her and her family and her good prospects of rehabilitation, as she wanted to become a nurse.
Her lawyer Leighton Gwynn previously told the court that Wells wanted to make amends and give back to the community after her sister’s death.
As part of her sentence, Wells must complete 200 hours of community work. Her licence was cancelled and disqualified for 18 months.
After she was spared jail for dangerous driving, Wells appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on two separate charges stemming from the crash.
She pleaded guilty to driving a prohibited vehicle as a probationary driver and having a prohibited substance, namely traces of cannabis in her system.
Her lawyer said she only had a “low level” of drugs in her system and they did not impair her driving on the day of the fatal crash.
She was ordered to be of good behaviour for 12 months and no conviction was recorded.
