SA woman punished enough over fatal crash

A grief-stricken mother has been punished enough over a crash which killed her young daughter and led to the suicide of her husband, a court has heard.

Joanne Tedesco, 33, wept in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday as she was spared jail after admitting driving without due care.

Eight-year-old Nicola died after Tedesco crashed into an electricity pole in Adelaide while travelling to her son's soccer game last April.

The court heard Tedesco, who was driving her estranged husband's powerful BMW sedan for the first time, had briefly accelerated before losing control of the car.

Her husband, who had remained on good terms with Tedesco, took his own life the next day.

Describing the incident as a great tragedy, Magistrate David Whittle on Wednesday handed Tedesco a three-month suspended prison sentence.

"Nothing this court can impose by way of penalties can match the punishment which you have suffered and will continue to suffer every day," he told Tedesco.

The crash had caused her serious injuries and extreme psychological trauma, Mr Whittle said.

Tedesco, whose charge was earlier downgraded from causing death by dangerous driving, was disqualified from driving for six months.

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