British backpacker Alicia Kemp jailed over fatal e-scooter crash that killed Perth dad Thanh Phan
A British backpacker has been jailed over an e-scooter incident that killed a pedestrian in Perth’s CBD.
Alicia Kemp, 25, was riding an e-scooter along Murray Street in Perth while drunk and hit Perth’s father Thanh Phan, knocking him to the ground.
Kemp was in Australia on a work visa when the fatal crash occurred.
From 2.30pm on May 31 he was drinking with a group of colleagues at various venues around Perth; These included a bar where they could consume unlimited alcohol for two hours as part of their reservation.
The group left after three hours and traveled to Perth’s CBD, where they continued drinking at various bars, before being refused entry at around 8pm.
They were seen on CCTV walking down Murray Street shortly after where Kemp stopped and rented an e-scooter that allowed his friend to ride on the back.
Footage shown in court showed Kemp’s friend falling off the e-scooter and struggling to keep his balance as he passed pedestrians who had to move out of their way before driving down the street.
Kemp rear-ended Mr. Phan moments later; he was traveling at about 20 km per hour as he stood at an intersection waiting to cross the road.
Mr. Phan fell and hit his head on the pavement with significant force, causing fatal injuries to his brain.
Kemp’s friend also fell off the e-scooter during the incident and lost consciousness at the scene due to a skull fracture.
Police performed a preliminary breath test on Kemp at the scene and revealed the backpacker’s blood alcohol level was 0.185, three times the legal limit.
Mr. Thanh died three days later.
During sentencing in Perth District Court, Judge Wendy Hughes said Kemp rode the scooter along the footpath, dangerously weaving in and out of pedestrians and failing to yield to traffic.
Ms Hughes told Kemp that what made the offense so serious was that he knew he had been drinking and was impaired by alcohol and chose not to use the e-scooter.
“(Mr. Thanh) had little to no warning that you were coming, which explains why his injuries were so catastrophic because it was an unprotected fall,” he said.
“It is clear from the CCTV footage that the victim was unaware of the collision and did not have time to protect himself.”
Ms Hughes said deterrence was the main factor in sentencing Kemp and that a clear message should be sent to the community that using e-scooters while drunk was dangerous.
“You, Ms. Kemp, are the cautionary tale,” he said.
“A very important part of punishing you today is sending a clear message to the community, and especially young people, that e-scooters are not toys.
“You are responsible for that person’s death, and that is real to you. It was not an accident. You are responsible for the death of a good man.”
“Your offense is very serious in terms of the consequences that led to the loss of life of the victim, but also very serious in terms of your criminality, drunkenness and speeding.”
Ms Kemp was sentenced to four years in prison.
