Husband welcomes drug-driving law change after crash that claimed wife

Steven Dennis welcomes drug-driving law change after wife's death Fri 3 Jul 2026 at 6:19am In short: A Queensland man called on the attorney-general to strengthen drug-driving laws after his wife was killed and his son permanently injured by a driver on meth. Because of a legal loophole, the meth driver was acquitted of the drug aspect of her charges in court. What's next: The attorney-general has announced two new bills would be tabled in parliament to address the drug-driving loophole. Nearly four years since his wife was killed by a driver who had been using methamphetamine, a Queensland father of seven feels justice has prevailed. In September 2022, Kathleen Dennis died and their 17-year-old son Luke suffered a traumatic brain injury in the car crash in Gympie on the Sunshine Coast. The other driver, Carla Anne Lutgenau, 45, was convicted of driving dangerously causing death and grievous bodily harm at a trial in November 2025. She was acquitted of being adversely affected by drugs despite having high levels of meth in her system. Steven Dennis was outraged and baffled by the drug-driving "legal loophole" and said he wanted Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington to intervene. Ms Frecklington was made aware of the case by the ABC last December. Last week, she announced two new bills would be tabled in parliament. 'Fixing a loophole' On Friday, Ms Frecklington said this would now mean meth found in the system of dangerous-driving offenders would be considered an aggravating factor, without having to prove the meth affected the driver. "We're fixing a loophole for drivers who drive dangerously with meth in their system," she said. Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said drug driving had overtaken drink driving for deaths on Queensland roads. "There is no safe limit. There is no test for impairment," he said. 'Lives changed forever' Mr Dennis said he applauded Ms Frecklington's announcement and believed it was a "step in the right direction". "We need a deterrent," he said. "It's a scourge on our culture that this sort of drug-taking exists." When Lutgenau escaped a drug conviction, Mr Dennis said he was "disgusted with the system". "I was gobsmacked that she did not get a conviction for the drug use," he said. But the new legislation won't bring back the love of his life, his best friend, and the mother of their seven children. For Mr Dennis, justice now means this won't happen to another family. "Our lives have changed forever, and Kathleen's life is no longer here, and Luke's life is beyond recognition and he's having a really hard time," Mr Dennis said. "It's just something I don't want anybody else to have to go through." 'Out of touch' Simon McKenzie, a criminal and humanitarian law researcher from Griffith University, said the state government should limit any legal changes to drivers who were "adversely affected" by drugs. "Drug driving is a bad thing to do … it puts people at risk in an unacceptable way," Dr McKenzie said. "This law will catch them [drivers with high amounts of drugs in their system], but it will also catch a group of people who aren't affected by the drugs that are in their system, but who have trace elements from their big night on the weekend or their medical-marijuana prescription." Dr McKenzie said the specifics of the new legislation were "out of touch" with the research, adding that it made more sense to bring drug driving in line with drink driving by introducing a high drug limit. "I can understand that zero tolerance feels like a very easy message to send and it resonates with a group of people," he said. "The people that evidence suggests it doesn't resonate with are drug users, which are the group of people that presumably we're really wanting to influence with this kind of legislation." A reminder of what happened The attorney-general backed the state government's zero-tolerance approach to drugs. "If you take drugs, you should not be driving a motor vehicle. You are putting other people's lives at risk," Ms Frecklington said. Lutgenau had 0.55mg of methamphetamine per litre of blood in her system when tested three hours after the 2022 crash. The new legislation would have ensured a drug conviction. "Kathleen's spirit will never leave us," Mr Dennis said. "She was a kind, unselfish person who would go out of her way to do nice things for people, was always concerned about the welfare of others before herself." The devoted father said his focus in life now was on Luke's challenges. "That'll always be a reminder of what happened," Mr Dennis said.