‘Carry his loss’: family mourn son, drunk driver jailed
The Guimaraes family, riding brightly lit e-bikes, were on an afternoon ride when Keith Andrew Chambers lost control of his minibus.
Chambers was at least three times over the legal alcohol limit and up to 60km/h over the speed limit when he hit Aiden Guimaraes and his father David in October 2024.
Additionally, his driving was impaired due to consumption of prescription opioid medications.
Nine-year-old Aiden was riding pillion with his father in a designated lane on the Gold Coast, ahead of his mother Andrea and brother Gabriel, who were traveling on another e-bike.
“It is truly horrific for an 11-year-old child to witness his brother suffer fatal injuries and his father suffer serious injuries,” Judge Glenn Martin said Thursday in sentencing Chambers to 14 years in prison.
The battery of the e-bike that crashed in the accident was found 60 meters away from the scene.
Mr Guimaraes was left critically injured and unconscious when his wife made the heartbreaking decision to turn off their son’s life support later that day.
“He will always be the little boy who loved Godzilla, Venom, monster trucks, mountain bikes, video games and Pokemon,” family spokesman Damien Simonfi said outside the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday.
“Aiden and the entire family deserved a future together. Instead we received a lifetime sentence of grief.”
The family and supporters later unfurled a banner outside the court to commemorate their “cheeky little boy”.
“We carry her loss with us every day and no judicial decision can ease our pain,” said Mr. Simonfi, who read a statement from parents standing nearby.
“Yet every day, just like the day before, we try to take one more step forward, one more step out of the seemingly never-ending fog that envelops our lives.”
Parents called for vehicular manslaughter laws to be introduced and compulsory third-party insurance to be overhauled so repeat offenders pay more.
“Choosing to drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a decision, not an accident,” Simonfi said on behalf of the family.
Aiden’s parents cried in court after Chambers was sentenced for their son’s death.
Judge Martin told Chambers that traumatized victim impact statements from Aiden’s family provided a compelling indication of the immense harm he had caused.
He disputed prosecutor Nathan Crane’s claim that Chambers was driving so recklessly out of “excitement” but said the actions were deliberate.
“You were not deterred by the danger you put yourself and others in,” he told Chambers.
Chambers was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter and dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.
He must serve at least 80 percent of his sentence.
Chambers was banned from driving for life.
