A mother who lost her unborn baby in a crash has hit out at a landmark sentencing after the teen driver responsible avoided detention, saying it is ‘not enough’.
An emotional Haylee Loccisano expressed her frustration outside court after the 17-year-old girl was given community service and a driving suspension for the fatal crash under new laws.
The girl on Tuesday pleaded guilty in Ipswich Childrens Court to driving without due care causing grievous bodily harm to Ms Loccisano and destroying the life of her unborn baby Celeste.
The 17-year-old’s sentencing marked the first use of Sophie’s Law in Queensland.
State parliament passed the law in September 2023 to make the killing of an unborn baby an aggravating factor at sentencing for offenders.
It followed years of campaigning by Sarah Milosevic, who lost her unborn baby at 39 weeks after a drunk and drug-affected driver crashed into her car in 2014 and was later handed a fine.
Ms Milosevic was present at Tuesday’s sentencing and was also not happy, claiming the teen ‘got away with it’.
Ms Loccisano, aged 24 at the time, was 25 weeks pregnant and a passenger in a Toyota Hilux utility being driven by her mother Teresa Burn on May 16, 2024 at Purga, west of Brisbane.
Haylee Loccisano expressed her frustration outside court after the 17-year-old driver who caused the crash that killed her unborn baby was given community service and a driving suspension
The teen was driving a Toyota RAV4 when she veered into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with the Toyota Hilux utility which Ms Loccisano was a passenger in (pictured)
The teen girl was driving a Toyota RAV4 and veered into oncoming traffic during a moment of inattention, causing a head-on collision with the Hilux.
Attempts to save Celeste via Caesarean section failed and Ms Loccisano spent the next eight days in intensive care with major abdominal injuries that required several surgeries.
Ms Loccisano read her victim impact statement to the court, saying Celeste was her miracle ‘rainbow baby’ after she was told she could not get pregnant.
‘She was taken away from me at the hands of a reckless driver … her being taken away from me in that way has affected me in ways that are hard to describe,’ she said.
‘I remember every little detail about the accident. I remember the fear that filled my body… my baby was all of a sudden not moving.’
Ms Loccisano said her extensive scars were a daily reminder of her loss and she continued to suffer ongoing physical and mental health issues.
Outside court Ms Loccisano said she felt ‘not good’ about the sentence.
‘It was not enough for the life that was taken,’ she said.
Ms Loccisano spent eight days in intensive care with major abdominal injuries that required several surgeries
Ms Loccisano, aged 24 at the time, was 25 weeks pregnant and attempts to save her unborn baby girl Celeste via Caesarean section failed
Acting Magistrate Sue Ganasan sentenced the teen to 100 hours of community service and disqualified her from holding a licence for six months with no conviction recorded.
The maximum sentence the teen could have faced was one year in detention.
‘There’s no getting away from the fact that any sentence I impose will still leave the parties to deal with the tragic consequences of what has occurred,’ Ms Ganasan said.
The teen’s barrister James Godbolt said outside court that his client was ‘obviously very sorry’.
‘It’s a terrible tragedy and nothing can make it right,’ he said.
After years of campaigning for Sophie’s Law, Ms Milosevic called for more change after being present for Tuesday’s landmark sentencing.
She called for minimum custodial sentences for offending that invoked Sophie’s Law.
‘(Community service) is a free ride. I don’t think she will learn anything from that,’ she said of the teen driver outside court.
‘As far as I’m concerned she got away with it.’
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