Shakira Adams, 24, who was sentenced to 14 years in jail with a nine-year non-parole period for culpable driving causing the death of 20-year-old Matthew McLuckie, will have her sentence reduced after an appeal. The crash occurred in May 2022 when Adams, then 19, drove a stolen car nearly 20 kilometres across Canberra before colliding head-on with McLuckie's vehicle on Hindmarsh Drive as he was returning from work.
The ACT Supreme Court found Adams was unlicensed, under the influence of methamphetamine, and travelling at speeds up to 186 kilometres per hour on the wrong side of the road immediately before the crash. Despite suffering a severe traumatic brain injury in the crash she caused, Adams continued using methamphetamine afterwards, which the chief justice said made her a "significant danger to society" and "more dangerous" than at the time of the crash.
The ACT Court of Appeal will re-sentence Adams after the Director of Public Prosecutions conceded the offending did not fall within the "worst category" of culpable driving. While both parties agreed on re-sentencing, they disagreed on how much weight to give Adams's disadvantaged upbringing, youth, traumatic brain injury, guilty plea, and new evidence about her custody conditions.
Adams's barrister, Kristin Edwards SC, argued the original 14-year sentence was "manifestly excessive" and urged the court to consider Adams's adverse childhood and rehabilitation prospects. Meanwhile, authorities continue to seek a transfer for Adams to New South Wales, where specialist treatment is available. However, Ms Ruddle noted that Adams's rehabilitation prospects remain uncertain due to her cognitive impairment and history of dangerous driving.
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