By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A 32-year-old disqualified drug-driver who crashed at high-speed into a car containing a family of five has been told by a judge that she was lucky not to have killed someone.
Kayla Popowski, of Dandenong, was observed driving an unregistered vehicle “too fast” and out of her lane while travelling from the CBD to Warragul on 2 July 2017, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court heard.
At Mulgrave, her car collided with a Jeep containing a husband, wife and children aged 12, 3 and 5 months.
The family’s car rolled as a result of the crash, coming to rest in the far right lane. The family were trapped and had to be cut out of the car by emergency services.
Popowski pleaded guilty to charges including reckless conduct endangering serious injury, dangerous driving, drug driving and driving an unregistered car arising from the Mulgrave crash on 2 July 2017.
“You were very lucky that you and other people weren’t seriously injured or killed,” magistrate Jack Vandersteen said during sentencing on 20 August.
Popowski had faced possible jail, but was given a longer-than-usual corrections order due to some mitigating factors, he said.
Popowski was assessed as low functioning to the brink of being intellectually disabled. Jail would have been very onerous on her, Mr Vandersteen noted.
At the hearing, Popowski was 32 weeks pregnant, and reported using drugs. She was couch surfing and hoping to find accommodation with homeless services provider WAYSS.
He also noted her early guilty plea, as well as her selling her car and refraining from driving since the incident.
Popowski had a limited history of driving offences in Victoria, though she’d also offended interstate including Tasmania.
She was sentenced to a three-year supervised community corrections order with drug, maternal and mental health treatment.
She was disqualified from driving for 30 months.
