Learner driver appeals conviction in fatal Muswellbrook crash

Stephanie Farrell, a learner driver previously convicted of dangerous driving occasioning death and grievous bodily harm, is appealing her sentence to the state's highest court. The appeal focuses on questioning the admissibility of expert evidence used during her trial.

The conviction stems from a December 2020 head-on collision outside Muswellbrook. Farrell, who was transporting a 10-year-old girl and a two-month-old baby at the time, crossed the center line and struck the vehicle of 28-year-old William Langford. Mr. Langford died at the scene.

During the judge-alone trial in Newcastle District Court, Judge Tim Gartelmann, SC, relied on testimony from a crime scene officer, a traffic reconstructionist, and a consultant engineer to conclude that Farrell had crossed “substantially over the centre line.” The judge noted that Farrell was not speeding or using a mobile phone at the time of the accident, and she reported having no memory of the crash.