Woman admits to texting before fatal crash that killed her friend
A Perth woman has admitted texting on her mobile phone moments before she crashed on the Mitchell Freeway, killing her friend in the passenger seat.
Aine Marie McGrath today admitted texting her boyfriend minutes before the crash that claimed the life of Sarah Kelly in August 2016, but denies causing death by dangerous driving.
Ms McGrath was behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer that suddenly veered 90 degrees, crossed four lanes of traffic and was T-boned by another car northbound on the freeway near Vincent Street.
In court on Tuesday, it was revealed seven text messages were sent between Ms McGrath and her boyfriend in the space of nine minutes.
Less than one minute after the final text, a triple zero call was made about the crash.
Phone records show the final text sent to Ms McGrath’s phone was read. But she told the court she never saw that message and denies using the phone when the crash happened.
The 25-year-old claims she was trying to avoid a crash with a Jeep when she hit the other vehicle, killing her friend instantly.
“I steered right to avoid hitting the back of (the Jeep), then to avoid hitting the barriers I swerved left. I knew I was going across four lanes,” she told the court.
“It all happened so fast, it was really frightening.”
Ms McGrath conceded she was distracted and wasn’t paying attention to the road — but says the crash was “just an accident”.
The trial is still ongoing.
This article originally appeared on The West Australian.
