A woman who allegedly embarked on "extremely serious dangerous" driving that caused a fiery crash has been denied bail over her risk to community safety.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Taylah Gilbertson is languishing in Bathurst jail after police were eventually able to charge her over the multi-car pile-up in Albury on March 23.
The delay was caused by Gilbertson spending 10 days in the Albury hospital mental health unit, Nolan House.
While Albury Local Court was told on Wednesday, May 1, that Gilbertson's mental health had stabilised with treatment and medication, self-harm remained a concern.
Magistrate Sally McLaughlin said Gilbertson continued to pose too great a risk to the community, so much so that no bail conditions could sufficiently mitigate that risk.
Defence lawyer Hannah Straughan had proposed a list of stringent bail conditions, including living with her parents at Wahgunyah, reporting daily to Corowa police and continuing with her mental health treatment.
"It's clear Ms Gilbertson was suffering from mental health concerns over this period," Ms Straughan said of the multiple charge sequences.
Ms Straughan said that once admitted to Nolan House after the crash, Gilbertson was medicated.
"Her mental health has greatly stabilised, to the extent she can provide instructions while before she could not," she said.
"While they are serious matters ... pleas of not guilty have been entered to those matters."
Ms Straughan said Gilbertson, an insulin-dependent diabetic, would be a vulnerable inmate if refused bail.
And even if she was found guilty, she said, "a full-time custodial penalty is not inevitable".
Gilbertson pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving and six charges of causing bodily harm by misconduct while in charge of a motor vehicle, though pleaded guilty to using an unregistered vehicle.
Police have alleged Gilbertson drove a red Jeep on the wrong side of the road, crashing head-on into a utility stopped at the Young and Wilson street traffic lights.
The alleged deliberate act forced the ute, with two children inside, backwards and onto the top of a Ford Territory, which in turn was pushed into a blue Mazda sedan.
The court heard how Gilbertson, who appeared via a video link, had embarked on a series of crimes since early this year that resulted in her appearing on six separate charge sequences on Wednesday.
She pleaded guilty to all the other matters, with sentencing for most of the charge sequences to take place on June 12. One charge was finalised on Wednesday without penalty.
The other charges include assaulting police and a front-line health worker.
In opposing bail, Sergeant Andrew Coombs pointed out how the six separate incidents of offending had occurred over just a few months.
Sergeant Coombs said full-time jail was likely if Gilbertson was convicted over the crash.
He said Gilbertson's attitude to bail could be best summed up by her being granted her conditional liberty in Wagga Local Court earlier this year.
Sergeant Coombs said Gilbertson promptly ripped up her bail slip and offended again that very same day.
Ms McLaughlin said police alleged Gilbertson drove dangerously through being on the wrong side of the road, was then compliant by stopping at a traffic signal but then embarked on "extremely serious dangerous driving that caused a serious accident and injuries".
"In my view, this appears to be a strong prosecution case," she said.
Ms McLaughlin said Gilbertson, who was facing full-time jail if convicted, seemed to have suffered a "significant (mental) health incident" in late 2023.
Regarding the other charges to which she pleaded guilty, she highlighted the incident where Gilbertson grabbed a policewoman by the hair, ripped a clump of it off her head and also punched her "multiple times".
On that conviction alone, Ms McLaughlin said, Gilbertson was likely to be jailed.
Ms McLaughlin ordered the preparation of a sentence assessment report.
