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NEWS: The Age - 26/09/08 'Jail for drugged driver who killed best mate'

hoptis

hoptis

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Jail for drugged driver who killed best mate
Kate Hagan
September 26, 2008 - 11:37AM

A young woman found guilty of taking the drug GHB and passing out at the wheel of her car - killing her best friend - has been sentenced to five years' jail.

Jenna Ratcliffe, 23, was returning home from a friend's house when she veered into a tree on Swansea Road, Montrose, in November 2005.

A County Court jury this month found Ratcliffe guilty of culpable driving over the death of her front seat passenger Carl Quigg, 19.

Shortly before the collision a witness saw Ratcliffe slumped over the wheel at traffic lights where she appeared ``vague'' and stared into space, before taking off slowly.

Ratcliffe's car was travelling at an estimated 52kmh when it crashed into the tree, and there were no marks consistent with braking or skidding on the road.

Judge Margaret Rizkalla said Ratcliffe had been a "party person'' who regularly used recreational drugs at the time but had since turned her life around, which included training as a nurse.

"I accept that you a a young woman genuinely on the path to being a good citizen,'' she said.

Ratcliffe will serve a minimum of two years and six months before being eligible for parole.
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The Age
 
Damn that would suck but who would even think about driving on GHB that's just stupid... I guess she kind of deserves what she got at least it's not 25 - 40 years that would be awful; I guess getting off with 5 years I would be pretty happy with that in a way.
 
Carl Quigg's picture drives a drugs warning
Aaron Langmaid
September 27, 2008 12:00am

0,,6271596,00.jpg


HIGH on drugs - this is the last photograph a mother has of her son.

The pupils of Carl Quigg's eyes are dilated, but he looks happy.

Two days after the picture was taken, in November 2005, the teen died in a drug-fuelled single vehicle smash in Melbourne's outer east.

Yesterday, best friend Jenna Ratcliffe, 23, was jailed for five years, with a minimum term of 2 1/2 years, after being found guilty of culpable driving.

Though she denied it, a jury decided the pair, pals since primary school, had taken doses of GHB before getting into a car.

Judge Margaret Rizkalla said they'd been "basically on a chase to find GHB."

The County Court heard that Ratcliffe had driven for more than 30km, as Carl drifted in and out of consciousness, before the Holden sedan left a straight, double-laned road in Montrose and slammed into a tree.

When the police arrived at her front door, Carl's mum, Marg Henley, asked them, "This will be drug-related, won't it?"

Carl died before she could reach the hospital.

She and her daughter had to drive past the crumpled car on the way there -- a memory she now has to live with.

Ms Henley knew Carl was a social drug user. She didn't like it, but figured it was better than not knowing at all.

"He'd always been really open," she said.

"As a parent, you are always told to keep your lines of communication open. Well, our lines were way open, and that didn't save him."

She later found he'd stuck on his bedroom wall the pamphlets she had given him about the dangers of drugs.

"Of course I had sat him down, but he was a 19-year-old kid," she said.

"For me, it was about trying to be as informed as I could and to make sure he was as informed as he could be."

Ms Henley now incorporates the message about the consequences of drug use and irresponsible driving into her work as a school teacher.

She said she hoped Carl's story might prevent a similar tragedy.

"If it saves one life, then that's enough," she said.

Outside court yesterday, Ms Henley embraced the mother of Jenna Ratcliffe. One parent who knew; another who didn't.
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Herald Sun
 
The sun seems to be in his eyes from the reflection on him so I personally think that it is from that... They could of dug this picture up from anywhere and how would they know if he was on drugs or not..? He's dead and he's the only one that would be able to state whether it is correct or not.
 
Pupils dont dilate when u take ghb. Atleast mine didnt. I feel sick even thinking about the taste of it not to mention gbl aarrhh
 
This picture was not 'dug up from anywhere'. I am Carl's Mum and I provided the photo to the newspaper. I agree his pupils are constricted not dilated. The photo came from jenna's mobile phone and it was taken two days before he died, in the same car seat he died in.

I wish I had had some power over my son to stop his drug use. I know what he looks like when he is straight, and unfortunately i know what he looks like when he's juiced - believe me, he's juiced to the eyeballs in this photo.:(

Unfortunately the article in the herald sun was heavily edited because it was grand final day. The original article was far more informative and educational about GHB with interviews with emergency room staff , ambulance stats etc. I just want people to be informed about what they are getting into when they use this drug, let alone try and drive whilst using.
 
Thank you for posting Ms Henley and deepest condolences on your loss.

Lassaris said:
It's a tragedy and my deepest condolences go out to you, Carl's Mum, if you truly are his mother.
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I'm pretty sure it is. This isn't the first time we've posted a news article about a drug-related death in Australia and found family members posting their thoughts, in fact, it's not even the second or third time.
 
If my kid died, posting in forums would be the last thing id do seriously. If u really are his mother im sorry to hear ur sons loss, its really sad. But i mean driving on GHB is pretty serious. Ive used it alot of times, its very similar to booze except if u dose a little bit more than u should u end up in a coma and u may never wake up from it.
 
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