Advertisement

Crash that killed pregnant woman sparks calls for tougher laws

ABC

ABC

There are calls for the Tasmanian government to toughen up punishments for car theft, after a heavily pregnant woman was killed in a horror crash last week.

Sarah Paino, 24, died at the scene when the car she was travelling in was hit by an allegedly stolen car in central Hobart.

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with manslaughter.

Vigil for pregnant mum killed in Hobart car crash

Ms Paino was 32 weeks pregnant and her baby was later delivered at the Royal Hobart Hospital, where he is in a stable condition.

There has been an outpouring of community support for the woman’s children and her partner, Daniel Stirling, who attended a vigil in Hobart on Saturday night.

Former Tasmanian policeman Phil Pyke said in Tasmania motor vehicle theft came under the Police Offences Act.

Facebook

Daniel Stirling with his partner Sarah Paino in an undated photo. Photo: Facebook

He argues it should be dealt with under the criminal code.

“It’s no deterrent at all with it remaining under the Police Offences Act,” he said.

“Over my time in Tasmania Police I’ve dealt with a young fella who had 43 charges of motor vehicle stealing and the very fact that it still continues to be a problem means that there is no deterrent.”

Mr Pyke believes not changing the law is putting the public at risk.

“We will still continue to see young people, multiple charges of motor vehicle stealing, no deterrent, the public will still continue to be at risk,” he said.

It is a call echoed by the Police Association.

President Pat Allen said the current laws were soft.

“There doesn’t seem to be too many consequences at all, some sad events can happen rising out of motor vehicle accidents as we all know now,” he said.

Calls for more road spikes

Police did not engage in a high-speed chase with the allegedly stolen car, as is their policy.

Mr Allen said his members wanted more road spike resources.

policecrash-edm

Police allege stolen four-wheel-drive ploughed into woman’s car.

“They want more road spikes out there and they want the judiciary to really sit up and take notice of what’s occurred here,” he said.

“There’s got to be better alternate resolution techniques put in place, there’s definitely not enough of those road spikes out there for everyone to operate properly.”

Mr Allen said more needed to be done to stop vehicle thefts.

“There’s a lot of anger in the community at the moment and that’s going to start to come out and we are going to have to sit down and seriously to stop this sort of disease that’s occurring,” he said.

“I think there are, amongst some sections of society, they have no conscience, they don’t care, they simply don’t care.”

A spokesman for the Government said it was constantly reviewing the law to ensure it reflected community standards.

“We do note that in this case the individual has been charged with manslaughter, which is a very serious offence.”

-ABC

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.