A man who caused a car crash north of Berry that killed an unborn child has withdrawn a court challenge to his seven-month prison sentence.
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Zebulon Joseph Wood withdrew a planned severity appeal in Nowra District Court on Thursday in an 11th hour bid to avoid a potential increase in his sentence.
Judge David Freason questioned the leniency of the initial sentence handed to Wood in the Local Court last month, describing his two-month non-parole period as "so miniscule".
“I would have increased it,” the judge told the court.
“I have read the facts and letters the accused and his sister wrote to the court. This is a very bad example of a grievous bodily harm (GBH) case and there was no alternative to jail.
“The GBH component was extreme.”
Wood pleaded guilty on June 22 to negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and driving while suspended following an accident on the Princes Highway north of Berry on October 2 last year.
The court heard Wood, who was suspended from driving at the time, was travelling south on the highway in a silver Mazda 323, with three passengers, including 18-year-old Tayla Brown, who was 26 weeks pregnant.
Two kilometres north of the Berry township Wood came upon a build up of traffic, failed to slow down and was forced to brake “harshly”.
His vehicle collided with the rear of another Mazda in front of him containing two women, before crossing to the incorrect side of the road and hitting an oncoming Commodore in which two women and three children were travelling.
The impact of the crash was so great, despite receiving immediate medical attention, doctors couldn't save Ms Brown’s 26-week foetus.
Wood was sentenced to seven months’ jail with a non-parole period of two months.
Judge Frearson said he was unimpressed by a submission in the letter that it “was a group decision “ for Wood to drive.
“You were suspended from driving, you had had a few drinks and you ran into another car. That resulted in a stillborn baby,” he said.
“The accident had profound emotional impact on the victim as a result. Profoundly extreme.”
Outside the court Ms Brown’s mother Toni said she hopes the family can now get on with its grieving but would continue to fight to have the baby, Letariah Michelle Margaret Brown, formally recognised.
Under law, unborn babies are not acknowledged and Wood could not be punished for the death of the 26-week-old foetus.
“I was shocked that he [Wood] appealed to start with and doubly shocked he got out on bail,”she said.
“We didn’t get informed about that until a couple of weeks later.
“I’m happy with the outcome. I’m happy with the judge, I know he couldn’t extend the sentence. We can move on now and fight for Letariah’s rights.
“The fact she is not acknowledged by law is another kick in the guts for us.
“We want the legislation to be changed.
“These babies are human, even though they haven’t taken their first breath, they’re still babies.
“We bathed her and dressed her and spent two days with her, and buried her.
“We don’t want anyone else to go through this.”
She said the accident had greatly affected her daughter.
“Hopefully now she can get on with grieving for Letariah,” she said.
“Accidents happen, we totally understand that. But this was no accident. He [Wood] was a suspended driver, he knew he’d been drinking and had three other people in the car as well as my unborn granddaughter.”