A police officer who caused a fatal crash after running a red light while racing to a high priority job has pleaded guilty to negligent driving causing death.
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Lachlan Colin Chancellor, 37, was due to face a two week trial on a charge of culpable driving but instead the jury was sent home and he pleaded to the lesser charge of negligent driving.
His police car had crashed into driver's side door of Amanda Beehag's Hyundai at an intersection in Kaleen on May 4 last year.
Ms Beehag, 54, died a month later when her life support was switched off.
Documents tendered on an earlier occasion say Chancellor had been patrolling Belconnen in a marked station wagon when he received the call about 8pm that night.
He reached high speeds along Maribyrnong Avenue, Bruce, the documents say.
The officer entered the intersection of Baldwin Drive and Maribyrnong Avenue at speed and then braked heavily, but could not avoid a collision with Ms Beehag’s car.
The police car t-boned the Hyundai at the driver’s side door.
The impact pushed the Hyundai into a central traffic light pole.
Chancellor pulled an unconscious Ms Beehag from the vehicle and rendered first aid, before she was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and put on life support.
Court documents say Ms Beehag suffered a brain injury, fractured vertebrae and ribs, and two collapsed lungs.
She died after her life support was turned off on June 1.
On Monday, prosecutors accepted Chancellor's plea to the lesser charge of negligent driving causing death.
Chancellor is currently suspended from work.
The case will be set down for sentence at a later date.
