Guilty of fatal drink-driving, Shubha Anand wants to take 9-month-old son to jail

30-year-old Shubha Anand pleaded guilty to being involved in a drunk-driving crash that killed a 19-year-old nursing student in Melbourne. She has now applied to take her 9-month-old son to prison with her.

Shubha

Source: 7 News

Shubha Anand was behind the wheel of a car that crashed into another vehicle waiting at an intersection, killing a 19-year-old nursing student in January last year.

Her blood alcohol reading was 0.159 – three times the legal limit – two hours after the high-speed crash in Williams Landing, in Melbourne’s west.

Ms Anand told police someone else was driving the vehicle but a DNA test of the blood found on her car’s airbag proved she was behind the wheel at the time of the fatal crash.

On Thursday, she pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death and applied to the prison authorities to take her eight-month-old son to jail with her.

Her lawyer told the County Court that she was concerned over the uncertainty about which way the authorities may rule. The judge acknowledged her anxiety and was concerned about what would happen to her son.

But victim Natasha Pigot's mother, Aleacha McMaster, said Anand's decision to get pregnant months after the crash was selfish, reported.

"She chose to have a baby and she chose to get married and live a different life after she caused this accident. I didn't," Ms McMaster was quoted as saying.

Ms Pigot's family said they could never forgive Anand, and were angry she never apologised to the family for what she did.

On January 10 last year, Ms Anand had left angrily after an altercation with her boyfriend after a party despite her boyfriend asking her not to drive.

She then crashed her vehicle into Ms Pigot's car 3 kilometres away, at a speed of 115 kmph, and then raced off.

Ms Anand was taken into custody after Ms Pigot’s family members read out victim impact statements.

The court will pronounce the sentence on Friday.  

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2 min read
Published 1 December 2017 11:34am
Updated 1 December 2017 12:40pm
By Shamsher Kainth

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