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A woman who was sedated by prescription medication when she killed a pedestrian in a shopping centre car park crash has been sentenced to more than two years in prison.
Katrina Maree Siciliano, 47, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving on the first day of her District Court trial earlier this year.
The court heard she was going to have a coffee at Tea Tree Plaza at Modbury when she drove straight through a parking bay and over a concrete kerb, fatally hitting Diane Hoskin.
The 62-year-old, who had been walking with her partner, died at the scene.
Judge Liesl Chapman described Siciliano's driving as "grossly negligent" and sentenced her to two years and three months in prison.
"It defies belief that a driver would overshoot a parking bay in the way you did … you drove into the parking spot and then just kept on going," she said.
"It also defies belief that a driver could not have seen Ms Hoskin who was pushing a shopping trolley right in front of you."
The court heard after the crash, witnesses reported Siciliano just sitting in the car, appearing unphased by what had happened.
"[The witness] said you had no urgency to get out of the car and made no effort to get out, you just sat there mumbling and talking to yourself," Judge Chapman said.
The court heard Siciliano had "long standing and significant" psychiatric issues and had multiple prescription medications in her system at the time of the crash.
It heard she had ignored her doctor's direction not to mix the medications and disregarded the red labels on the drugs warning about drowsiness and not to drive if so affected.
Judge Chapman said while Siciliano's psychiatric condition explained her negligence, it did not excuse it, and that she should have never been behind the wheel of a car.
"There is nothing before me to suggest that you would not have understood direction given to you by your GP some 12 days before this event," she said.
The court heard Ms Hoskin was excited about recently becoming a grandmother and was returning from booking a European cruise when she was struck.
"The trauma of the way Diane Hoskin died has deeply wounded and scarred her family and friends for life," Judge Chapman said.
"There is no sentence which can in any way equate to the loss of her life and the loss of a loved one in those circumstances."
Siciliano was taken into custody and ordered to serve a non-parole period of one year and nine months.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, courts-and-trials, adelaide-5000, sa
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