Tracey Bennett said the death of her sister, Leonie Strachan, on August 31 last year had been a “horrendous and devastating journey” for her family, made worse by the feeling that the effect on them has not been considered at all.

A Thurgoona woman, 24, in April was put on a six-month bond without conviction for careless driving after the crash near Wooragee at dusk.

After striking another vehicle, she was travelling partly on the wrong side of the road when she hit Mrs Strachan’s car.

Mrs Bennett was travelling in the car behind her and witnessed the crash.

She said telling their mother of the court decision “felt like when I had to tell her (Leonie) had died in the first place”.

“I had to explain to her the anomalies in the legislation, that the magistrate could have imposed a higher penalty but didn’t,” she said.

“It just defies logic that she can still have her driver’s licence after being found guilty of careless driving.

“It feels like there’s been no consideration (in the penalty) for my sister’s life, or the fact she had a future and dreams in front of her.”

Mrs Bennett felt compelled to speak out after the mother of the driver left a comment stating her daughter, too, had suffered since the crash, and that it was an accident.

But to Mrs Bennett it wasn’t just an accident, but a fatal accident.

While she doesn’t believe every such incident necessarily warrants a jail term, there should be a loss of licence at the very least and a hefty fine that might be passed to organisations like the SES or a charity that the victim believed in — something that could acknowledge the victim was not just a statistic, but a person.