Stephanie Akehurst sentenced to home detention after deadly crash

Anthony Hobden's family left Darwin Local Court furious after the driver who killed him received two months of home detention and 180 hours of community service.

Stephanie Akehurst pleaded guilty in July to careless driving, failing to give way and driving with a drug in her system. The crash happened in daylight on a dry road in Palmerston in 2024, when Akehurst was driving north on Chung Wah Terrace at 30 kilometres per hour.

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She said [she] would like to see her go to jail, not for the rest of her life, but there has to be a consequence for killing someone.

Judge Steven Ledek said Akehurst turned right and failed to give way before striking Hobden, throwing him into the air before he landed on the road. The 56-year-old died at the scene. Ledek described the crash as a moment of careless inattention, but noted that Akehurst was not speeding, was not grossly intoxicated and had no criminal history.

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I'm ropeable … it's an absolute insult.

The judge said Hobden's partner, Gabrielle Johnson, had wanted a jail sentence. "She said [she] would like to see her go to jail, not for the rest of her life, but there has to be a consequence for killing someone," he told the court. Ledek said he believed Akehurst was already suffering as a natural consequence of her conduct.

Outside court, Johnson rejected that reasoning. "I'm ropeable … it's an absolute insult," she said. "Anthony's life was worth more than two months to go home and watch DVDs." Court documents said Akehurst admitted smoking cannabis the night before the collision. A roadside test was negative, but later blood tests detected a small amount of cannabis in her system.

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Anthony's life was worth more than two months to go home and watch DVDs.