Driver sentenced after rear-end crash on highway near road works

Patricia Anne Kohn appeared via telephone in Moree Local Court when she was sentenced for five driving charges stemming from a crash on the Newell Highway on March 6, 2023.

The 69-year-old Victorian woman was charged following a lengthy police investigation after a rear-end crash, north of Moree.

Kohn, who lives in the Colac Otway Shire area, was behind the wheel of a Ford Territory, when it ran into the back of a black Toyota Landcruiser which was stopped at road works near Murrays Road in Tulloona.

The front passenger in the Ford, a 28-year-old woman, and the driver of the Toyota, a man in his 70s, were seriously injured as a result of the crash.

Four children in the Ford were also injured and taken to Moree Hospital.

The 28-year-old woman was later airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital with serious head and facial injuries.

The driver of the Toyota was treated for a broken neck and required surgery at a Queensland hospital.

In court, Kohn was sentenced to an 18 month community-based prison sentence, or an Intensive Corrections Order, for two counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and one charge of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.

She was convicted and fined $600 for two charges of driving with unrestrained children in the car.

The Victorian woman was also ordered to complete 150 hours of community service work.