Alleged killer driver found fit to plead, potentially stand trial

Shakira May Adams, who was allegedly driving a stolen car at the time, is accused of killing Matthew McLuckie when she crashed into his vehicle in May 2022.

She is yet to enter pleas to five charges, including manslaughter and culpable driving causing death.

The case so far has centred around whether Adams, who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the crash, is fit to plead and potentially stand trial.

In the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum found that evidence and reports from two psychiatrists did not establish Adams was unfit.

Both psychiatrists had determined that Adams was unfit to plead due to a "major cognitive impairment" and this was unlikely to improve in the next 12 months.

The experts expressed concerns about Adams' ability to concentrate, follow proceedings, and retain information.

However, Chief Justice McCallum found that while Adams was mentally impaired it was not to the extent of preventing her right to a fair trial.

"The significance of the diagnosis must be assessed in the context of the courts' distinct legal expertise in the nature of the proceedings," Chief Justice McCallum said.

The judge also stated it was within the courts' ability to appoint an intermediary to help Adams understand proceedings.

In 2022, Mr McLuckie was heading home from his part-time job at the Canberra Airport when his Holden Astra and Adams' Golf collided almost head-on.

Adams, who is said to have had illicit drugs in her system, was allegedly driving the Volkswagen sedan on the wrong side of Hindmarsh Drive when the car and Mr McLuckie's vehicle collided at speed.

He died the next day, and Adams was taken to hospital with major injuries.

The case is next set to go before a registrar later this month.