‘Reprehensible’: man jailed, grandma killed in crash
Fraser Barton |
Yrsa Christoffersen was supposed to be enjoying a holiday with her grandchild.
Instead the 73-year-old was undergoing an autopsy after Andrew Julian Stewart-Smith crashed into her car at high speed with a stolen vehicle before fleeing.
The devastating aftermath was laid bare before Stewart-Smith, 29, was sentenced in Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday for his “reprehensible” behaviour.
Heartbreaking victim impact statements in a court packed with family members detailed the fallout after Stewart-Smith ploughed into the grandmother’s car in September 2023.
Ms Christoffersen was driving her daughter Maria to work when a Holden Commodore collided with her Suzuki Swift about 6.40am.
She died in the crash and her daughter suffered serious injuries.
“I woke up in a hospital bed, feeling pain like I had never known,” Maria Christoffersen said in her victim impact statement.
“I remember asking where my mum was and they wouldn’t tell me.
“The way they looked at me though, I knew. I could see it on their faces.”
Stewart-Smith had been driving up to 114km/h in a 60km/h zone in a Holden with stolen registration plates when he hit the Christoffersens’ vehicle, sending it airborne.
He fled the scene telling onlookers: “You don’t understand, it’s not my car”.
Stewart-Smith was later located by a police tracker dog in a storm drain, attempting to conceal himself by covering his body in mud.
Ms Christoffersen’s family was devastated, with a grandchild set to spend the week with her.
“Instead my mum got to spend the week in the morgue and get an autopsy and my sister Maria got to lie damaged in a hospital bed,” daughter Lorna Christoffersen said in her victim impact statement.
Maria Christoffersen suffered jaw, rib, pelvic and spine fractures along with spleen and liver lacerations.
She lost up to 15kg, was unable to chew food for months and had to blow into balloons to prevent her lungs collapsing.
Stewart-Smith had 35 prior speeding offences since 2013.
Defence counsel Angus Edwards said his client was ashamed of his actions.
Stewart-Smith had pleaded guilty to vehicle theft, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and grievous bodily harm whilst excessively speeding.
He also pleaded guilty to drug possession and child exploitation material offences.
Police had located methamphetamine during subsequent searches along with 335 images of child exploitation material on his phone.
Justice Tom Sullivan sentenced Stewart-Smith to eight-and-a-half years in jail.
AAP
