A mother who drove her vehicle over her own daughter while intoxicated is expected to plead guilty to the offence of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
The incident occurred in Caringbah in Sydney's south.
Dale Palmer was arrested after he daughter, Keely Palmer was trapped under the car after being dragged about 100 metres down the road.
The matter is next listed at Downing Centre Local Court.
Charged with Aggravated Dangerous Driving Occasioning Grievous Bodily Harm
Dale Palmer was charged with aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm on 2 May 2021 following an alleged collision with her daughter.
The 58-year-old was breath tested by police which returned a reading of 0.166 – more than three times over the legal limit.
Police claim that while she was under the influence of alcohol, she started driving a Toyota Starlet and ran over her daughter.
The incident occurred near their family's home at Caringbah in Sydney's south.
Police and ambulance arrived at the scene shortly afterwards, finding Keely Palmer trapped under the car, having been dragged 100 metres before the vehicle stopped.
The crash was believed to have occurred after a birthday party at the family's home for their young brother.
It took emergency services approximately 80 minutes to rescue her before she was rushed to hospital. She remained there for a number of days as she recovered from significant arm and leg injuries.
Police also charged her with high range drink driving and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
She was issued with an immediate licence suspension and police applied for an apprehended violence order (AVO) with the person in need of protection (PINOP) named as Keely Palmer.
Amongst the AVO conditions, Dale Palmer cannot be in the presence of her daughter within 12 hours of drinking alcohol or taking drugs.
Downing Centre Court
Appearing at the Downing Centre Local Court, a DPP prosecutor indicated that Mrs Palmer would plead guilty to aggravated dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.
The court also heard that the case would be finalised in the Local Court and would not proceed to the District Court.
A final set of agreed facts addressing the offence is yet to be finalised, while the charges of negligent driving and high range pca will be withdrawn.
Dale Palmer remains on bail. The matter will return to court on 24 February 2022.
Aggravated Dangerous Driving Occasioning Grievous Bodily Harm
The definition of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm under Section 52A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) is a person driving dangerously who is involved in an impact, and that impact causes really serious harm to another.
You can fight an aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm charge in two ways. Firstly, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt:
- You drove a vehicle (this means that you were "in control of the steering, movement or propulsion of a vehicle");
- That vehicle was involved in an impact;
- The impact caused grievous bodily harm (ie. really serious harm) to another person;
- At the time of the impact you were:
- Under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or
- driving the vehicle at a speed or in a manner that created a danger to other users of the road.
In addition to the above elements, the prosecution must also prove that a circumstance of aggravation existed. This means that they must prove you either:
- had a blood alcohol concentration of over 0.150 (this must be measured within 2 hours of the impact); or
- were speeding over 45km per hour; or
- were driving to escape a police officer; or
- were under the influence of drugs to such an extent that your ability to drive was substantially impaired.
This is why it is important to obtain advice from specialist aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm lawyers who have successfully defended hundreds of these charges. Call Astor Legal on (02) 7804 2823. Or, you can email info@astorlegal.com.au.
You can be found 'not guilty' if one of the following defences to aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm exist:
- The speed you were driving was not dangerous;
- The manner in which you were driving was not dangerous;
- You were not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This can include if there were drugs or alcohol in your system but we can prove that they did not affect your driving;
- Causation: Your actions were not the cause of the grievous bodily harm
- Identification:Police cannot prove that you were driving the vehicle
- Honest and reasonable mistake:You genuinely believed your driving was safe and it was reasonable for you to hold this belief. For example where your vehicle had a defect.
- Duress:You were forced to drive while suspended.
- Necessity: You needed to drive in the circumstances (eg. you were escaping a serious assault)
The maximum penalty for 'Aggravated Dangerous Driving Occasioning Grievous Bodily Harm' is 11 years imprisonment if your case is heard in the District Court.
