Chrystle Olivia Kemp: Woman faces jail for killing little niece, unborn child

The bedrooms of two children have sat frozen in time for more than a year.

Christmas presents remain unopened at the end of five-year-old Savannah’s bed after her aunty caused a “horrendous” crash that killed her and destroyed two families.

The grieving parents of Remi, an unborn baby who never made it home after the collision, have since kept the door to his nursery closed.

His mother was 34-weeks pregnant when Chrystle Olivia Kemp’s Landcruiser slammed into her car and also caused the serious injuries that ended his life before it began.

Tears filled a courtroom in Shepparton as two families spoke of their heartache at Kemp’s pre-sentence hearing on Wednesday.

“The feeling of loss is so great, it is visceral,” Savannah’s mother Byrana Kemp said in a statement read to the court.

“Savannah’s bed still has the same bed sheets which she slept on but the smell of her has faded.

“It is as if time has frozen in her room, a painful reminder of the absence, the thought of moving or getting rid of anything feels like erasing her memory.”

Kemp, 27, has pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing death and another for causing serious injury to a heavily pregnant Elodie Aldridge, in Shepparton East, Victoria, on October 20, 2023.

Kemp picked Savannah up from kindergarten without telling her sister and drove her to Dookie for the afternoon to take photos in the canola fields.

But the five-year-old was not wearing a full seatbelt or sitting in a booster, with only a lap-sash belt protecting her as she sat in the back passenger seat.

Kemp drove through a stop sign and collided with two other vehicles, hitting the brake three-and-a-half seconds before driving through the intersection of Old Dookie and Boundary roads.

Savannah suffered neck injuries severe enough to kill her at the scene.

Kemp’s barrister Paul Smallwood said his client did not remember any of the “horrific” crash.

Savannah’s mother said she would never forgive Kemp, whom she said had not apologised nor taken accountability.

“Savannah died in horrendous circumstances,” Byrana said in her statement.

“This incident has caused a major rift between us and the rest of my external family, as I feel Chrystle disrespected my authority as a parent.

“The fact that she is my sister and not a stranger makes the pain even greater and the death of Savannah so much harder to comprehend.”

Mrs Aldridge was driving home from an appointment when she was told she was carrying a healthy baby boy when her life changed forever.

She became trapped inside her vehicle and was flown to the Alfred with injuries to her hips, where she delivered Remi stillborn.

“It has been a year and I still can’t see a pram or child without feeling my heart break a little more,” Mrs Aldridge told the court.

“I know this accident wasn’t my fault but I can’t help feeling guilty, the guilt of surviving when my son didn’t.”

Judge Geoffrey Chettle said the crash had clearly devastated the two families.

“I find myself sitting there reading victim impact statements in tears because it never ceases to be stark and brutal,” he said.

Kemp, who remains on bail, is facing prison time unless her legal team can successfully argue she demonstrates exceptional circumstances.

Mr Smallwood listed Kemp’s medical conditions, including pelvic fractures from the crash and Crohn’s disease, as he argued prison would be more onerous.

He said she would not be able to get medication, including opioids and valium, and was suffering from “overwhelming grief”.

The hearing was adjourned part-heard to November 20.