Shakira Adams to face multiple driving charges over Hindmarsh fatal crash

Shakira Adams was badly injured and placed in intensive care following the Red Hill crash on May 19.

Police said they still hadn't been able to interview her but they felt the matter should be put before the courts.

A third driver - whose car police say was dumped after the crash - still remains at large. The car was seen driving at speed in the same direction as the alleged perpetrator's car but didn't cross into the oncoming lane. The car has been examined forensically but the driver still not found. The connection with the alleged perpetrator is not known.

The crash driver Shakira Adams, 20, of Bruce, has been summonsed to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court charged with manslaughter, culpable driving causing death, aggravated/reckless driving, being an unlicensed driver, and driving a motor vehicle without consent.

If found guilty of these offences she could potentially spend more than 20 years behind bars. But now the key question is whether Adams will be deemed fit to make a plea.

The speed at which the head-on crash occurred on Hindmarsh Drive had not been released before now.

With the alleged perpetrator driving at 177 km/h and the deceased driver of the other car going at 80 km/h, Detective Acting Superintendent Paul Hutcheson said it was equivalent to driving into a brick wall at more than 250 km/h.

"It was an absolutely massive collision," he said. "Devastating."

"It's just a tragic situation, including for the defendant," the detective said.

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Matthew McLuckie, still on his P-plates, was driving home after finishing work at his part-time job at Canberra Airport late in the evening of May 19. His dinner was waiting for him when he got home.

But the 20 year old never made it home.

His father, Tom, described Matthew as a relatively inexperienced but careful driver.

However, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when, its alleged, Adams, the only occupant in the stolen car, suddenly appeared over the crest of the hill on Hindmarsh Drive on the wrong side of the road at high speed.

The head-on impact was extensively wrecked both vehicles.

Matthew McLuckie died at the scene as a result of his injuries. Adams was extracted with extensive, life-threatening injuries and it is understood that it was only as a result of the efforts of paramedics and the close proximity of The Canberra Hospital that she survived.

A GoFundMe was set up to raise funds to aid her recovery but later taken down.

The Hindmarsh Drive fatal crash was one of the key factors which led to an ACT Assembly Justice and Community Safety committee inquiry being convened into dangerous driving. That committee is yet to hand down its findings.

Adams is due to appear in court on February 7.

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