lorraine nicholson stawell

Lorraine Nicholson sat in the front row of seats in the court room with her husband and son for the filing hearing on Friday morning. Nicholson has also been charged with speeding on the Stawell-Avoca Road with a detected speed of 89km/h in a 80km/h zone. Police prosecutor Sergeant Aimee Heale said Nicholson's passport had to be surrendered to the court instead of the police. The court was told the police already had her passport, but it would now be in the custody of the court. Stawell woman Lorraine Nicholson, 64, outside court A 64-year-old woman accused of killing four people in a crash at a Navarre intersection has fronted the Ballarat Magistrates Court. Magistrate Gregory Robinson refused the application. They were returning home from a line dancing event when they were killed.  Nicholson has been charged with 10 offences, including four counts of culpable driving causing death. Lorraine Nicholson, 64, has denied gross negligence over the 2018 crash at Navarre, pleading not guilty to culpable and dangerous driving in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Friday. It was the Stawell woman's first court appearance since the May 5 fatal crash that killed four friends - Elaine Middleton, 75, Claudia Jackson, 72, Tess Ely, 74 and Dianne Barr, 64. Lorraine Nicholson, 64, has denied gross negligence over the 2018 crash at Navarre, pleading not guilty to culpable and dangerous driving in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Friday. Defence lawyer Andrew Madden said the hand-up brief would be serviced on his client on August 10, while a committal mention would be held on September 20. A 64-year-old woman accused of killing four people in a crash at a Navarre intersection has fronted the Ballarat Magistrates Court.Lorraine Nicholson sat in the front row of seats in the court room with her husband and son for the filing hearing on Friday morning.It was the Stawell woman's first court appearance since the May 5 fatal crash that killed four friends - Elaine Middleton, 75, Claudia Jackson, 72, Tess Ely, 74 and Dianne Barr, 64.They were returning home from a line dancing event when they were killed. A 64-year-old Victorian woman charged over a crash which killed four women on their way home from a night of line dancing has been directed to stand trial before a jury.Stawell resident Lorraine Nicholson pleaded not guilty at the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Friday to four counts of dangerous driving and four counts of culpable driving causing death.Elaine Middleton, Margaret Ely, Dianne Barr and Claudia Jackson, aged 64 to 75, were returning home from dancing on May 5 when a Jeep Cherokee allegedly T-boned their Kia on an isolated stretch of road at Navarre, in Victoria's west.All four women in the Kia died of internal injuries, while Nicholson suffered non life-threatening injuries.Ms Nicholson is accused of failing to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Stawell-Avoca Road and Ararat-St Arnaud Road and driving over the 80kmh zone.A collision reconstructionist and police informant gave evidence in the short committal hearing on Friday morning.Defence barrister David Hallowes SC urged the court to not commit his client on the culpable driving causing death charges.He said there was no suggestion Ms Nicholson was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving erratically, driving while using a mobile phone, fell asleep or distracted before she approached the intersection.Mr Hallowes said Ms Nicholson was familiar with a left hand bend before the intersection and knew the intersection itself.“If anyone approached the intersection they knew, taking that left hand bend – there is no suggestion she fell asleep – foot comes off the accelerator, there’s 3.9 seconds to go (until the intersection) and for whatever reason the brake is not engaged at all,” Mr Hallowes said.“It’s that period of time, the failure to apply the brakes due to inattention, that falls a long way behind the charge of negligent driving.”Mr Hallowes conceded the collision was tragic for the four women who died and for their families.Magistrate Ron Saines refused to omit the culpable driving causing death charges, saying the accused knew the intersection and had appeared to have driven past warning signs.Collision reconstruction expert Detective Leading Senior Constable Mick Hardiman agreed with Mr Hallowes that Ms Nicholson was travelling between 93 to 94km/h in an 80km/h zone and the vehicle’s accelerator was off 110 metres before the “trigger point” of the collision.“Someone starts taking their foot off the accelerator, someone is in control of that car and is consistent with someone trying to stop that vehicle,” Mr Hallowes put to Detective Leading Senior Constable Hardiman, to which he replied, “yes”.The collision reconstruction expert agreed Ms Nicholson could have comfortably stopped the vehicle at the intersection’s white line if she had applied the brakes.Ms Nicholson, who was supported in court by two rows of people, was remanded on trial bail to reappear in the County Court for a direction’s hearing on January 31.Her bail conditions include to live at a stable address, not to contact prosecution witnesses, not to attend international points of departure and to surrender her passport.Stawell woman to fight charges over crash in which four women diedThe four women killed in the Navarre crash: (from left) Tess Ely , Dianne Barr, Claudia Jackson and Elaine Middleton.

Charge sheets obtained by Fairfax Media state the accused failed to stop and give way at a stop sign at the intersection of Stawell-Avoca Road and Ararat-St Arnaud Road. Stawell woman Lorraine Nicholson, 64, outside court .