Overview
- A Brisbane Supreme Court judge gave Keith Andrew Chambers a 14-year jail term after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and drink-driving charges for a crash that killed nine-year-old Aiden Guimaraes and seriously injured his father.
- The court heard Chambers was heavily intoxicated, had mixed alcohol with prescription painkillers and antidepressants, and was driving at excessive speed when his mini-van left the road and struck the family on a dedicated bike path.
- Justice Glenn Martin accepted that Chambers remained at the scene and presented to police the next day, and the sentence includes a concurrent six-year term and a lifetime ban on holding a driver licence.
- Outside court the family said they were devastated not only by the loss but by a reported compulsory third-party insurer valuation of Aiden’s life at $9,775 and they urged the Queensland government to reform compensation rules.
- The case highlights tensions between criminal accountability, road-safety measures for protected cycling routes, and how CTP insurance calculates fatality payouts, which could prompt policy scrutiny or review.