Friend takes heat

A “MISGUIDED sense of loyalty” saw a Tassie mother of two take the fall for her friend’s dangerous driving. She went to the police when her friend never thanked her for it, a court has heard.

ALL sentencing options are on the table for a Huon Valley woman who tried to take the rap for a dangerous driving incident, a Supreme Court judge says.

In the Supreme Court of Tasmania in Hobart before Justice Michael Brett on Tuesday, Natasha Anne Hickey, 32, of Port Huon, pleaded guilty to one count of perverting justice.

The Crown prosecutor told the court in the early hours of the morning of October 6, 2019, Ms Hickey was a passenger in her Hyundai Elantra which was seen doing about 70km/ h in a 50km/ h zone in Kingston.

Another woman, who was already facing other charges and was not licensed, was driving and proceeded to drive dangerously for about 30km through Kingston, Blackmans Bay, Tinderbox and Sandfly areas, sometimes driving on the wrong side of the road.

The court heard the police tried several times to intercept the car.

The prosecutor said the driver said to Ms Hickey she did not want to go to jail and she would lose her daughter if she did and so Ms Hickey got into the driver’s seat when the car stopped in Sandfly, where she was arrested.

On October 8, Ms Hickey sent a text message to the other woman which said: “I’m sorry, but I’m not going down for your actions … you’ve not called or thanked me once.”

The prosector said the other woman urged her friend not to change her mind, but Ms Hickey contacted Huonville police.

She told police she was not the driver and she realised taking the blame was not going to help her friend.

The prosector said Ms Hickey’s actions meant the real driver was not breath or drug tested.

Defence lawyer Craig Rainbird said Ms Hickey was a mother of two who had lost her job because of COVID- 19.

He said her actions were motivated by a misguided sense of loyalty to her friend, whom she had known for 20 years, as well as concern for the friend’s young daughter.

Justice Brett said he regarded the matter as “a serious example of the crime”.

“All sentencing options are on the table,” he said.

Ms Hickey was released on bail and will be sentenced on Wednesday afternoon.