Jennifer Megan Payet avoids jail over 2019 Xmas night crash which killed Jessica Kealey

A 61-year-old woman has avoided jail for a “tragic” Christmas night crash that killed her son’s partner and left him with serious injuries a short time after having to pull over and walk around her vehicle because she was sleepy. Jennifer Megan Payet was handed an eight-month prison term that was suspended for nine months after previously pleading guilty to careless driving causing death and careless driving causing grievous bodily harm in Bunbury Magistrates Court on Friday. The court was told Payet was driving a white Subaru Forester in December 2019 when she left Christmas Day celebrations in Margaret River with her son Lachlan and his 24-year-old girlfriend Jessica Kealey to travel home. At 10.17pm, Payet pulled over at a rest-stop in Capel and began walking around her car for several minutes after feeling sleepy before continuing on to travel along Ferguson Road. The road was described to the court as a windy road with no street lighting and undulating hills, as well as single lanes in both directions. After failing to navigate a right-hand curve after an intersection at Wellington Mill Road, the Forester crossed the dividing lines to the wrong side of the road before moving off the sealed road to the gravel shoulder. Payet soon lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a concrete stormwater pipe. Ms Kealey, who was seated directly behind Payet at the time, died at the scene while Payet and her son were both flown to Royal Perth Hospital by the RAC Rescue helicopter with serious injuries. The court was told the road conditions were fine save for the night-time darkness and Payet was familiar with the road. In submissions, Payet’s lawyer Fiona Hugo told the court the “devastating consequences of the crash could not be overstated” and the incident would be something Payet would “carry for the rest of her life”. It was also submitted Payet had not consumed alcohol and was not speeding at the time of the crash. Ms Hugo also told the court Payet had continued to support her son through his ongoing medical treatment. While it was understood Payet’s son had continued to receive medical treatment for his injuries, he said in a letter provided to the court that he had since been able to live independently and he was “close to being the same person I was before”. Victim impact statements written by the young woman’s parents indicated they did not blame Payet for the tragic accident. In sentencing, Magistrate Benjamin Tyers said while it was “difficult to know precisely what went wrong”, the result of the crash was “quite tragic”. “No sentence I impose will adequately reflect Jessica’s loss of life and your son’s serious injuries,” he said. “It is clear to me you are genuinely remorseful of the incident and that this will haunt you.” In handing down the sentence, Mr Tyers said suspending the prison term was “the easiest part of the sentencing exercise”. Payet’s licence was also disqualified for six months.