Prosecutors have revealed they will not pursue jail time for a Marshall Mount woman involved in a tragic buggy accident that killed a young child.
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Kandice Eljamal, 32, was driving an unregistered Polaris Ranger 4x4 along Calderwood Road with three child passengers onboard on February 17 last year when she lost control of the vehicle approximately 10 seconds after crossing a cattle grid on the roadway.
The vehicle swerved right and Eljamal steered sharply to the left in an attempted to bring the vehicle back onto the roadway, but the oversteering caused the buggy to roll onto its right side, before then completely rolling over.
The vehicle came to a rest on a wooden fence adjacent to Calderwood Road.
Neither Eljamal or the three children were wearing seatbelts installed in the buggy and all were thrown from the vehicle.
The buggy rolled onto one of the children, leaving them with critical head and chest injuries. The child was flown to Sydney Children's Hospital but died two days later.
This is just a sorry case ... She's in absolute genuine, deep grief and sorrow for what she's caused.
The other children were treated for minor injuries, as was Eljamal.
The vehicle was towed from the scene and examined by police but cleared of any mechanical defects.
Eljamal later gave the following statement to police through her lawyer: "our client was driving the vehicle when she travelled over a cow gate. Suddenly the rear end of the buggy slid out and our client tried to regain control".
Eljamal was subsequently charged with dangerous driving occasioning death but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of negligent driving occasioning death after reaching a deal with prosecutors.
Two other charges of negligent driving will be taken into account on sentencing.
In Wollongong Local Court on Friday, defence barrister Craig Smith SC said Eljamal would be forever changed by what had happened that day.
"This is just a sorry case..." he said. "She's in absolute genuine, deep grief and sorrow for what she's caused."
He said a community corrections order would be an appropriate sentence to reflect the unique and tragic circumstances of the case.
Crown prosecutor Michael Fox told the court he did not oppose the imposition of such a sentence, noting there was nothing dangerous or irresponsible in the way Eljamal had been operating the vehicle before the crash.
"It's a tragic matter," he said.
"Many are, but this one maybe more so than most.
"She will no doubt have to deal with this for the rest of her life."
Magistrate Michael Love ordered a background report be prepared before he sentences Eljamal on August 7.
