Jennifer June Hutchison sentenced by ACT court to suspended jail for negligent driving causing death of Richard John McNamara

Jennifer June Hutchison, 62, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to negligent driving occasioning death.

Court facts state that Hutchison was driving a Toyota Yaris about 5.15pm on June 18 last year when she struck Richard John McNamara, who was using a walking cane on a raised pedestrian crossing near the intersection of Brigalow and Hall streets in Lyneham.

Crash data showed she was travelling on Brigalow Street, limited to 50km/h, at 64km/h five seconds before striking the victim.

At the point of collision, the Yaris was travelling at 32km/h and the impact caused the man to wrap over the bonnet. His head struck the windscreen before he fell off the vehicle.

When Hutchison, a personal assistant at Brindabella Christian College, parked her car nearby and went to the scene, a witness asked her if she was OK.

"I didn't see him," she replied.

When police arrived, Hutchison told them she had been driving with her car's headlights on and did not see the pedestrian.

Police later obtained CCTV footage from a nearby residence that showed the victim stopping at the crossing's edge for 17.5 seconds before entering it.

An analysis determined Hutchison "would have had a view of the crossing over a distance of 260.6m for about 15 seconds" at the speed she was travelling.

Paramedics took the 84-year-old man, who sustained serious injuries including to his head, to Canberra Hospital for emergency treatment, but he died six days later.

The court previously heard a medical report stated that Mr McNamara was blind in one eye and that a neurosurgical team who assessed him concluded he sustained "unsurvivable injuries".

A mechanical inspection of the Yaris showed no indications of any mechanical or structural failure that may have contributed to the collision.

The negligence by Hutchison, of Hughes in the ACT, was driving at excessive speed, failing to see Mr McNamara, and not braking in time.

Her lawyer previously said she did not see Mr McNamara because of glare from other cars' headlights, fading light, the overcast and drizzling weather and the wet road.

In his sentencing, magistrate Robert Cook said the court "acknowledges the enormous impact of the deceased's death upon his family and friends".

He described the death as a "tragic incident" and that there was an obligation to deter other drivers from committing the same or similar offences.

He said deterring Hutchison was "not an entirely relevant consideration in sentencing" due to a number of features in her favour.

"Optimistically, you come before the court with no criminal history," Mr Cook said.

He cited the pre-sentence report that states Hutchison accepted the facts of the case, took full responsibility for the offending, and expressed shame and guilt.

"The offence has clearly, on the material provided to me, deeply affected you," Mr Cook said.

"You're assessed as low risk of general re-offending and I form the same view."

Another feature is her living a prosocial life, including having family support and employment, before the offending.

However, Mr Cook said he still had to ensure that Hutchison was held accountable for her actions by imposing an appropriate sentence.

"There is a consequence in relation to your actions. There is someone else involved and that person, Mr McNamara, lost his life."

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Mr Cook said he was also required in sentencing to consider the hardship and disruption "that may possibly fall on you as a consequence of any sentencing".

This included the impact on Hutchison's employment and her providing care to her elderly mother.

The court heard that the victim's daughter may be willing to engage in a restorative justice process with Hutchison.

The magistrate also spoke of his experiences related to that specific road and crossing.

He said that when driving through the up ramp of the crossing, the headlights of another vehicle "are raised up into your line of vision".

He said that affected a driver's line of vision, creating an extra hazard requiring extra caution because one "can very easily lose any capacity of seeing anything".

"I do make the point that on a rainy day ... that a greater obligation was owed in those conditions," the magistrate said.

Mr Cook sentenced Hutchison, who had supporters in court, to seven months' jail fully suspended upon her entering a 15-month good behaviour order.

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