February 15, 2018
A Kingaroy man will serve four months in jail after falling asleep at the wheel in 2016, causing a crash in which a young girl died.
Gregory Lee Clarke, 42, was sentenced in the District Court in Brisbane on Tuesday on a charge of dangerous driving causing death.
The charge related to a crash which occurred on the Dalby-Kogan Road on December 19, 2016.
Jada Norford, 14, from Dalby, was severely injured in the incident and died in hospital 13 days later.
The court was told Clarke knew he was tired but drove anyway.
After nodding off, his vehicle drifted off the road and hit a tree.
Also in the vehicle were Jada’s older sister Tori, and a friend, Cameron Egan.
Judge Jennifer Rosengren sentenced Clarke to a jail term of two years and nine months, but took into account the 260 days he had already spent in custody.
The sentence will be suspended after four months.
