A WOMAN who was behind the wheel of a car when it crashed into a pole and killed her pregnant passenger in Inverell, will spend at least four and a half years behind bars for manslaughter.
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Kyra Maynard, who is in her 20s, pleaded guilty to the charge and has been sentenced in Toowoomba District Court.
Judge Jennifer English imposed a jail term of six years and nine months, with four years and six months non-parole, for the manslaughter charge after a sentencing hearing last week.
Maynard has been in custody since she was charged after the fatal crash in March last year, and will remain there until at least September 2024 when she will be eligible for parole.
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Several further related offences levelled against her by the state prosecuting authority, the DPP, were also dealt with at sentencing including driving with an unrestrained passenger and using an unregistered car on the road.
The sentence includes a discount the offender was legally entitled to.
Maynard will also be disqualified from driving for three years after her release from prison, court documents show.
The police case was that Maynard was driving a Holden Commodore along Warialda Road at Inverell late at night on March 8, 2020, when she collided with another car.
The Holden then crashed into a pole.
Emergency services rushed to the scene about 10:30pm where they found both Maynard and her passenger injured.
The 20-year-old passenger was pregnant at the time.
The woman was rushed to Inverell hospital but both her and her unborn baby tragically died before she could be airlifted.
The two occupants of the other car involved were not seriously injured.
Investigations led police to charge Maynard in the days after the crash and the allegation was later upgraded to manslaughter by prosecutors.
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