Family of motorcycle crash victim calls for careless driver to face prison time

The family of a well-known member of the Northern Territory’s motorsport community who was killed in a horror road crash in 2024 are calling for the driver who hit him to face jail time.

Anthony Hobden was riding home on his Harley Davidson motorcycle in the satellite city of Palmerston, outside Darwin, in October 2024 when he struck a car after its driver failed to give way and he was flung into the air.

The woman behind the wheel, Stephanie Akehurst, pleaded guilty in the Darwin Local Court today to careless driving, failing to give way, and driving with a drug in her system, as Mr Hobden’s family watched on from the public gallery.

During the emotionally charged hearing, the 56-year-old’s siblings read statements expressing their grief and calling on the justice system to send a message about careless driving on NT roads.

‘Our family will never be the same’

According to agreed facts tendered in court, Akehurst tested negative to drugs and alcohol during a roadside saliva test at the scene of the accident, but admitted to smoking a joint the night before.

Blood tests later revealed a small amount of cannabis in Akehurst’s blood, which prosecutor Jeremy Bandwell said had a “small adverse effect on her driving”.

The court also heard a sample of Mr Hobden’s blood was found to contain a cannabis concentration three times higher than Akehurst’s, although there was no evidence to suggest the drug in Mr Hobden’s system contributed to the crash.

In a victim impact statement delivered in court, Mr Hobden’s sister Sue Betts told the court her family had been “robbed” of a life with their loved one.

“We will carry this loss every single day for the rest our lives and our family will never be the same,” she said.

Ms Betts then looked directly at Akehurst, who was seated in the front row of the gallery alongside her family, and said “I have no words for you”.

Mr Hobden’s brother, Dave Hobden, told the court he was “f***ing furious” and called on the judge send Akehurst to prison.

“It feels like in the NT, a person’s life isn’t worth anything,” he said.

‘Genuine, heartfelt and long-term remorse’

Akehurst’s defence lawyer, Beth Wild, described her client’s offending as “momentary inattention” and argued her moral culpability was low in the circumstances.

Ms Wild pointed to the fact that Akehurst stayed at the scene and admitted to using drugs the night before, as well as her guilty pleas, as examples of her “genuine, heartfelt, and long-term remorse”.

She urged the court to impose a fine or a community corrections order but said actual jail time should be “off the table”.

In response, prosecutor Jeremy Bandwell argued the case was a “fairly serious example of this kind of offending” that could warrant a term of imprisonment.

Mr Hobden’s death was one of 60 road fatalities across the NT in 2024, double the 2023 figure and the territory’s highest in a decade.

“In the NT our roads are dangerous,” Mr Bandwell said.

“A high road toll occurs here and there is a need for the courts to make clear to individuals and the community that conduct such as this is serious.

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“Ultimately, we are talking about a life lost.”

Judge Steve Ledek said he needed more time to consider the appropriate punishment with reference to sentences handed down for similar offences in the past.

“Sentencing theory 101 would tell you that general deterrence would demand a sterner sentence because no one’s getting the message,” he said.

Akehurst will remain on bail until a sentencing hearing on August 7.