A legacy lost: Remembering the life that might-have-been for little Miles and his family
It is now more than two years since a Brisbane couple were shockingly mowed down by a stolen SUV, being driven by a teenage criminal. We should never forget them, nor their unborn son Miles, writes Madonna King
Turning two-years-old is a delightful milestone for the family of any toddler.
This is when children grab hold of a few words with the same vigour as they splash bath water. They run everywhere, but especially to their Mum and Dad, who fill smartphone albums of everyday moments.
Miles, the child Matthew Field and his six-month pregnant partner Kate Leadbetter were expecting when they were run down by a stolen car on Australia Day 2021, would have recently celebrated his second birthday.
Do many of us even remember the heartache of that day, only two years ago? Or did it take another incident – this time in Maryborough where a young teen allegedly driving a stolen car has been charged over the death of three people – to remind us?
Miles shouldn’t have died. Matthew and Kate should be looking forward to the rest of their lives, as should the three people who lost their lives on Sunday night – nurse Sheree Robertson, beautiful 17-year-old Kelsie Davies and Michale Chandler, who had not yet turned 30.
This is not right. It is not right. And no matter where you might sit on the political spectrum, it is horrendously unfair.
The teen driver who killed Miles and his parents, is unnamed, will not have his sentence increased beyond 10 years, and could be out for Australia Day 2027.
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The heartache worn by Matthew and Kate’s families this week should be a telling reminder for all of us that the pain of losing a child like this does not end for the families or the communities who embrace them.
And that’s what the Government has to consider, in navigating a path forward. Not doing anything more is not doing anything at all.
The teens who are behind the relentless stories of car thefts that have now killed so many might have had dreadful lives. We don’t know the heartache that has visited them. Perhaps foetal alcohol syndrome has played a part? Or absent families? Perhaps parents who have never cared? Or poverty?
All of that is sad. It’s a travesty. But it should not become an excuse or rationale for the crimes we are now seeing too regularly.
Of course, perspective is paramount and if it was my teen responsible for such carnage, I’d want the legal system and the community to put their arms around them and understand they might not have enjoyed the privilege of others.
But if it was my teen in the car, or standing on the sidewalk, when a teen in a stolen car killed them – and in the case of Miles and his parents not even stop at the scene, I know I would track them down in a bid to implement my own version of justice.
The parents of Matthew and Kate and the families of those allegedly killed by the teen this week deserve to be heard by every one of us.
Yes, our politicians have to weigh up the rights of a teen, who might not have had a good early start in life, against the rights of the rest of the community who should be able to go to work, and come home, in safety
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But it’s that latter cohort that deserves our attention. Killing innocent people, while in a stolen car, needs to be outlawed via the penalties imposed. How can we, as a community, equate a slap over the wrist or a few years in jail with the heartache of the families of those who are charged with organising funerals for someone they didn’t have a chance to farewell?
This doesn’t mean we can’t address the reasons why children might be embarking on crime. But it should mean their crimes are punished with the severity they deserve.
What would happen if we considered an innovative version of the broken windows theory, used elsewhere. It simply means that visible and early signs of crime encourages bigger, more serious crime.
What would happen if we ploughed money and resources and a bipartisan effort into tracking the path of those born with foetal alcohol syndrome, and those who first started playing truant in primary school?
What would happen if we stepped in early, with the might of a public and private partnership, to identify potential wrong-doers at that point?
In the current climate, we’d be accused of discriminatory behaviour – targeting children not yet guilty of a crime.
But what’s the alternative? Sending teens away for a few years and pretending that makes up for a lifetime of heartache for the victims they leave behind?
Is it too much to ask that all sides of politics put their political allegiances to one side and genuinely work together to find a solution?
Just consider what a mighty legacy that would be for little Miles, who never got the chance to enjoy any of life’s milestones.
