ACT Magistrates Court finds Rebecca Krutsky guilty of driving at pedestrians

Rebecca Katherine Krutsky, 50, faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

At the conclusion of a multi-day hearing, magistrate Glenn Theakston found Krutsky guilty of two counts of using an offensive weapon in circumstances dangerous to a person.

Krutsky had previously pleaded not guilty to those charges. She has pleaded guilty to a charge of damaging property.

Mr Theakston found the two victims were visiting a friend who lived on the same street as Krutsky, in Taylor, in September last year.

Mr Theakston said when the women left the home and walked down the street, Krutsky drove the vehicle "at speed and stopped abruptly" before yelling at them aggressively.

Krutsky then turned her car in "one swift and sharp motion" into a driveway the women were crossing.

The magistrate found while the women saw the vehicle coming and jumped out of the way, "if they had hesitated for even a second or so they would have been struck".

Mr Theakston said the offender did not mean to cause harm but "intended to drive her vehicle towards and at the women in that they would be required to jump out of the way".

The victims then ran back towards the house, only for Krutsky to follow and crash into a garage at that property.

"Under considerable power, perhaps as much power as she had available to her, [Krutsky] accelerated down the street and into the garage door," Mr Theakston said.

The court previously heard this caused between $40,000 and $50,000 worth of damage, with Krutsky's vehicle crashing through the door and hitting a BMW belonging to the homeowners.

In her closing address, defence lawyer Madison Fieldus argued her client did not intend to hit the women.

She said her client's conduct was part of "an ongoing desire to communicate with the women and ask them to call the police".

Krutsky is set to appear in court for sentencing next week.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: