The parents of four-year-old Osal Pokhrel have asked the court to impose the lightest possible sentence on Maureen Brew, the 80-year-old driver whose car struck their son. Osal was riding on a shopping trolley pushed by his parents when the car hit him at Southlands Shopping Centre in Mawson in January. He died in hospital. Brew has pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death. The court heard she pressed the accelerator instead of the brake after the car mounted a kerb. Prosecutors argued a prison term was needed. Justice Belinda Baker reserved her decision for a later date.
The parents of four-year-old Osal Mayur Pokhrel have asked the ACT Supreme Court for the lightest possible sentence for the elderly driver who killed him. Police believe Maureen Brew, 80, pressed the accelerator instead of the brake when her car drove along a footpath at Southlands Shopping Centre in Mawson in January. Brew pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death. Her lawyer sought a fully suspended sentence, while the prosecution argued that would not reflect the seriousness of the offence. Justice Belinda Baker reserved her decision and will sentence Brew at a later date.
A 40-year-old woman has pleaded not guilty to two counts of culpable driving causing death and one count of negligent driving causing actual bodily harm. The charges relate to a crash on Gunghalin Drive in Palmerston in August that struck five cyclists. Bridie Lee, 32, died at the scene, and Ryan Riethmuller, 39, died in hospital a week later. Her lawyer entered the pleas on her behalf at the ACT Magistrates Court. The case is due to return to court in January 2027.
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A 40-year-old woman has been formally charged over a crash on Gungahlin Drive that killed two cyclists and injured another. Thi Phuong Ngoc Nguyen is accused of driving the Hyundai Accent that hit five cyclists from the Canberra Bilbys Triathlon Club. Bridie Lee, 32, died at the scene, and Ryan Riethmuller, 39, died a week later in hospital. Ms Nguyen faces two counts of culpable driving causing death and one count of negligent driving occasioning actual bodily harm. Her lawyer says she will plead not guilty to all charges. The matter will next appear in court on 12 January.
A drug-affected driver who killed a mother of four in northern Victoria has been sentenced to eight years and two months in prison. Lance O'Brien, 31, pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death and contravening bail conditions. His car veered into the lane of Vilia Sutherland on the Barmah-Shepparton Road at Kaarimba in October 2025, killing her at the scene. O'Brien will be eligible for parole in December 2031. He was also fined $1,200 and disqualified from driving for five years.
