Family who lost unborn baby in fatal Shepparton crash are calling for their son to be recognized as a victim

Chrystle Olivia Kemp, 26, ignored two stop signs for reasons she still can’t explain.

Today a court heard how her inattention shattered two families, causing the death of a young girl and wiping out another life weeks before it began.

Kemp crashed into two other vehicles at the intersection of Old Dookie and Boundary Roads in Shepparton East on October 20, 2023.

On Wednesday, Kemp pleaded guilty to two charges of dangerous driving.

The County Court in Shepparton heard Kemp’s four-wheel drive passed two stop signs and still entered the intersection at 30mph.

Kemp only braked “lightly to moderately” in the 3.5 seconds before the collision.

Kemp’s five-year-old niece, Savannah, was not secured in a booster seat and died after succumbing to chest, leg and neck injuries.

Kemp claims he has no memory of a fatal crash

Elodie Aldridge was driving one of the other vehicles Kemp crashed into.

Mrs Aldridge, who was 34 weeks pregnant, lost her unborn son Remi and suffered serious injuries to her abdomen, hip and wrist.

The occupants of the third vehicle escaped serious injury, the court heard.

What exactly Kemp was doing behind the wheel at the time of the crash remains unclear, it was heard.

She has no memory of the incident and Judge Geoffrey Chettle said there was no evidence Kemp was on the phone, taking drugs or speeding.

“Trying to figure out what happened here is not easy. She just didn’t see the stop sign,” the judge said.

In court, Savannah’s mother Bryana Kemp targeted her sister for “careless negligence” and said she still had not received an apology.

Savannah was a caring, funny girl who died under “horrendous circumstances,” her mother said.

“What makes me sad is that she has not yet been able to leave her impact on this world. Who will remember her but us?” Bryana Kemp said this in a victim statement, read by a prosecutor.

Savannah was in the car because Kemp picked her up from daycare without her mother’s permission, Bryana Kemp said. The girl’s grandmother was supposed to be on pick-up duty.

Family shattered by lost pregnancy

The Aldridge family has also been left in constant mourning for a son who was so close to entering the world.

In the hours before the crash, Ms Aldridge attended a medical appointment which confirmed Remi would be a ‘healthy and big’ baby.

That evening, Mrs Aldridge was again under the care of medical experts – this time for emergency surgery to save her life. Remi was delivered stillborn.

Mrs Aldridge said she and her husband Andrew could not bring themselves to pack up the bedroom they had prepared for their son. Mrs. Aldridge continues to use crutches due to her injuries.

Her husband said the crash scene looked like “a war zone” and described the moments he held Remi in the hospital for the first time.

“He was cold. His lips were black. I just wanted him to open his eyes. I wanted to hear that scream,” Mr Aldridge said in a statement read out on his behalf.

Aldridge family calls for tougher sentences after accident

Kemp was charged with dangerous driving in connection with Savannah’s death and Ms Aldridge’s injuries. However, under Victorian law, Remi was not considered a victim of the crash.

The Aldridges have called on the government to follow the example of NSW and Queensland, where unborn children can be recognized as victims of crime.

However, a spokesperson for the Allan government said current laws have “the right balance”, and changes could have “unintended consequences” for abortion rights in Victoria.

Kemp faces the potential of receiving more than a decade in prison for the crash – but her lawyers argued there were exceptional circumstances that meant she should be spared prison altogether.

Kemp’s defense team said she pleaded guilty early in the trial, felt “overwhelming grief” and suffered from PTSD, depression and ongoing physical injuries.

Judge Chettle called the case “very emotional” and said he had to put it aside to consider the facts and the law.

The case was postponed until November 20.