Storm Tientjes sentenced to prison for fatal accident after falling asleep at the wheel while driving drugs

Storm Cecilia Tientjes had been up all night in the south-east town of Dunalley when she decided to get behind the wheel of a car to attempt an hour’s drive north to Hobart, a court heard.

A bystander described Tientjes’ eyes as glazed over and she was disjointed, unconscious and confused and unable to drive in a straight line as she turned onto the Arthur Highway.

It was the morning of Good Friday 2023 and she had a friend and a child in the car with her.

She never held a driver’s license, the car was unregistered and had stolen license plates.

Tientjes, 29, briefly filmed herself on Snapchat smoking weed in the driver’s seat before fishtailing the car into the gravel as she said: “That’s what I was doing with Bridgey.”

“Everybody was so upset.”

The friend in the car described Tientjes as “tired” and she stopped to walk for 10 minutes before setting off again on the busy tourist highway.

At the same time, Shadari Athrey and her husband had left the nearby beach town of Primrose Sands on holiday in Queensland.

At 9.20am, Tientjes fell asleep at the wheel, drifted onto the wrong side of the road and hit an oncoming car, instantly killing the passenger, Mrs Athrey.

As emergency services attended, Tientjes told police a “Sam”, who fled the scene, was driving. A police manhunt ensued.

She eventually admitted to police that she was the driver, the court heard.

She was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Hobart on Wednesday after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, drug driving, drug possession, smoking in a vehicle with a child present and other summary offences.

The brakes are not applied

The court heard Tientjes refused a blood test but later tested positive for cannabis and methylamphetamine.

The police investigation revealed that she had not applied the brakes prior to the accident and it was agreed that she was asleep at the time.

They found the Snapchat videos on her phone, the court heard.

Judge Helen Wood said all motorists on the Arthur Freeway at the time were at risk because of Tientjes’ actions.

“She was an ever-present risk of inattention or falling asleep every time she was behind the wheel,” Judge Wood told the court.

“It was Good Friday and motorists were expected to be on that stretch of road and indeed they were.

“Genuine Remorse”

The court heard Tientjes head-butted a female police officer the day after the crash, resulting in a three-month prison sentence.

She was later released on bail but has committed further offenses and has been in custody since January.

Judge Wood described Tientjes as having endured a difficult life, including becoming a mother at 16 and suffering extreme abuse and violence from men, leading to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Judge Wood said Tientjes had shown “genuine remorse”, expressed her desire to reform her life, restore contact with her child and start her studies.

“(The sentence) must reflect the sanctity of human life and the terrible harm that was caused,” she said.

Tientjes was sentenced to three and a half years in prison with a non-parole period of 21 months.

She has already served 317 days in custody and will be eligible for parole in August.

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