A learner driver whose sister died in a “tragic” road crash has walked free after prosecutors accepted she was unaware of the accident.
Asyai Luk, 24, returned to the County Court of Victoria on Wednesday morning and was fined $600 after pleading guilty to careless driving and driving without supervision.
Sentencing, Judge Kellie Blair said she had taken into account the “unusual and exceptional circumstances” of the case in deciding not to record a conviction.
The court was told that Luk had borrowed his mother’s black Dodge pickup truck on the morning of November 7, 2022, before leaving home with his sister, Gol Luk, 24.
Shortly before 3pm that same day, Luk stopped on High St in Sunshine before approaching a stranger and asking him to call police, saying she had been “attacked” by her sister.
Security cameras at a neighbouring property captured Luk returning to the car and continuing to argue with Gol, who then got out of the vehicle.
The tragedy occurred when Gol tried to re-enter while Luk was accelerating.
Gol was holding onto the passenger door and was dragged by the vehicle before crashing into the bumper of a Nissan Patrol “about a car length away.”
Asyai Luk, 24, (pictured), returned to the County Court of Victoria on Wednesday morning and was fined $600 after pleading guilty to careless driving and driving without supervision.
Asyai Luk (pictured left) with her sister Anong Luk, also known as Gol (pictured right)
Footage previously shown to the court showed Gol moaning in pain as neighbours ran away and Luk continued driving down the street.
Luk was arrested shortly after arriving home four hours later and her sister died from her injuries at Royal Melbourne Hospital that night.
Luk was initially charged with dangerous driving causing death and leaving the scene of an accident; however, these charges were dropped in June after prosecutors accepted she was unaware of what happened to her sister.
Neighbours provided first aid at the scene of the accident before police arrived.
“From the outset, I recognize the serious consequences and loss of life that resulted from this tragic accident,” Judge Blair said.
The judge said she was sentencing Luk to death and took into account the horrific results of “unusual and unforeseen circumstances.”
“I accept that the incident occurred in less than a couple of seconds,” he said. “This offence was momentary, involuntary and in circumstances where you were unaware of your sister’s presence at the car door.”
The court was told the now single mother of a four-month-old boy was still suffering flashbacks and nightmares of the incident and her family had suffered devastating impacts.
In a statement, the court was told the sisters’ mother, Aleza Gwit, described the nearly two years since then as a “curse she would not wish on her worst enemy”.
“The impact has been profound and life-changing,” Judge Blair said.
