11 January 2023

Boy who killed two girls in crash admits he didn't try to help after accident

| Albert McKnight
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floral tribute at crash site

Flowers are left at the scene of the Monaro Highway crash on 9 October 2022. Photo: Michelle Kroll.

The boy who killed two teenage girls in a horrific car crash last year has also admitted that he didn’t try to help after the accident.

Susie Kopysiewicz, 14, and Claire Sankey, 15, died from the Monaro Highway crash on 9 October 2022.

ACT Policing previously said emergency services found a sedan had crashed through a row of temporary fencing and into a tree at Hume that morning.

The two girls were declared dead at the scene. Police believed they had been in the car for several hours before emergency services arrived.

It would have been Susie’s 15th birthday the next day.

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A 16-year-old boy, who is legally unable to be named, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of culpable driving causing death over the incident before appearing over audio-visual link in the ACT Children’s Court again on Wednesday (11 January).

He announced “guilty” when read a charge of not giving assistance after an accident causing death.

Members of his family and one of the girls’ families were in court.

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Magistrate James Lawton remanded him in custody and committed him to the ACT Supreme Court for sentencing over the charges from the crash, as well as unrelated charges.

The particular details he pleaded guilty to are not yet publicly known. His first appearance in the higher court is in February.

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The application of ACT’s bail and parole laws badly needs review as magistrates continue to provide bail to recidivist offenders, even ones who have broken bail six to eight times. If magistrates continue to give soft sentences to repeat offenders then it is time to consider mandatory sentencing. And Rattenbury should go!

Don’t forget Labours koombaya laws, give labour the boot useless

William Newby11:36 pm 11 Jan 23

“as well as unrelated charges” – Most of the ACT road deaths in 2022 came from people already before the system, and yet Rattenbury and Barr feel there is no need to review the system that we have. Clearly they are very pleased with how it is all working.

They will respond with something like “speed was the main factor. We will fix it with more speed cameras”.

As you say many of the ACT’s road deaths in 2022 were victims of crime not the victims of road accidents for want of a better term.

What a little grub

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