Stacey Leigh Cunningham: Mum in crash near Geraldton that killed daughter, stepson handed suspended jail term

A woman who drove through a give way sign before a horror crash near Geraldton that killed her young daughter and stepson has been handed a suspended jail term after being found guilty of three serious charges. Stacey Cunningham was behind the wheel of a Mazda 3 that collided with a Ford F250 utility as she turned from Edward Road into McCartney Road, Greenough, nearly five years ago on the WA Day long weekend in 2020. Harmonie Cunningham, 10, and Nate Stewart, 7, died at the scene while family friend Cameron Byfield was seriously injured. Cunningham’s partner, Cheyne Stewart, who was in the front passenger seat and escaped injury, shouted out just before impact. They had been holidaying in Geraldton and were on their way to visit Greenough Pioneer Village. The 35-year-old was charged with two counts of careless driving causing death and one count of careless driving causing grievous bodily harm, but it took three-and-a-half years for her trial to even begin in December 2023. It was then adjourned for various reasons, and the magistrate’s decision was delayed, deeply upsetting Nate’s grieving mother, Amy Scott. On Wednesday, Cunningham finally learnt her fate, with Magistrate Sandra De Maoi finding her guilty of all three charges then swiftly sentencing her. She said she had “no doubt” the intersection was challenging, with a crest affecting visibility. But well ahead of the junction, there was a give way sign after an advisory sign and both could be easily seen. Air bag data showed Cunningham was travelling at 54km/h one second before the crash, while the speed limit was 110km/h. At the crash scene, she suggested she may have been distracted by her GPS, which was clamped in a cradle on the dashboard, adding: “It just happened so quick”. The magistrate found Cunningham was not paying the due care and attention that was required on such a difficult road. She had become flustered as she had become lost and pulled over before turning around, looking at the GPS for guidance with the sound off. “The (give way and advisory) signs were there to be seen,” Ms De Maoi said. The magistrate said her distraction could not be described as momentary and her culpability was high. “You’ve missed two signs - you can’t even remember seeing them,” Ms De Maoi said. Cunningham had being doing everything right up until she set off again, the magistrate told her as Ms Scott looked on from the packed courtroom. “No-one is going to leave happy - I can’t rectify a wrong,” the magistrate said. “You’re a good person ... but you’ve made a terrible mistake. “You’ve all suffered an enormous loss. “I don’t think for one moment you’ll be doing anything like this again.” Ms De Maoi sentenced Cunningham to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. Her driver’s license was suspended for six months and she was fined $200 for having a small amount of THC, found in cannabis, in her system. Outside court, Ms Scott said the wait for justice had been anguishing. “This process has been borne out beyond what any grieving family should ever have to endure,” Ms Scott said. “I’ve had to fight for information, basic updates, and for recognition of the impact that it’s had on our lives. “I don’t take any joy in this outcome, but I do feel it acknowledges that the lives of two innocent children mattered and that their loss was preventable. “This verdict doesn’t close the chapter for me, but it helps me turn the page. “Drive so everyone survives.” She asked that the children be remembered as bright and loving.