A young woman’s despair at her mother’s suffering from cancer was at the heart of two high-speed Hume Freeway incidents near Woomargama, a court has heard.
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Highway Patrol officers became so concerned after Tayla Halpin sped away a second time that they abandoned their night-time pursuit
They simply hoped Halpin would turn her lights back on and slow down.
But the last they saw of her was continuing to speed-off into the distance at Table Top, near the Olympic Highway interchange. The Lavington woman reached speeds of up to 160km/h.
Defence solicitor Mark Cronin has told Albury Local Court that “tragically”, Halpin’s mother had since died.
Mr Cronin said the background to Halpin’s offending was that she had a “complex mental health history”.
Halpin, 22, pleaded guilty to charges of P2 driver exceeding speed by more than an estimated 30km/h and drive recklessly/furiously or speed/manner dangerous.
Albury Local Court has been told that Highway Patrol officers were doing routine patrols on the freeway on May 25 about 9.45pm when they saw a car travelling at “well above the 100km/h speed limit”.
They tried to catch-up to the car, which reached 145km/h. After both pulled over, a woman stuck her head out the driver’s window and yelled: “You could have stopped me back there before I was speeding.”
Halpin appeared “very agitated and upset” and was “shaking uncontrollably”.
After handing over her licence, Halpin said: “I’ve been on the phone to my mother all night, she has cancer.”
Soon after she sped off again, her speed checked at between 158km/h to 160km/h.
Halpin will be sentenced on October 24.
