Redland mayor Karen Williams draws criticism from crash victim mum

Redland mayor Karen Williams has stepped down from the Brisbane Olympics board after admitting she consumed “several drinks” before crashing her car, but the mother of a young woman killed by a drunk driver says she must also resign as mayor.

Ms Williams has apologised for crashing her car hours after delivering the Redland City Council budget, admitting she consumed several drinks over some hours and made a “rash decision” to drive herself home.

She has not been charged by police. No bystanders were injured in the crash.

Shortly before the crash, the mayor was in a video meeting with the families of drink driving victims including Judy Lindsay, whose daughter Hayley was killed by a drink driver a decade ago.

It was the first meeting between Ms Lindsay and the mayor, who had arranged the meeting to campaign further on the issue of youth justice.

The mayor recently led a parliamentary petition urging a longer sentence for an 18-year-old man convicted of manslaughter over the 2021 deaths of Matthew Field and Kate Leadbetter.

“We had a bit of a chat and got to meet each other and tell our stories and Karen said to all of us how sorry she was for the loss of your kids,” Ms Lindsay said.

Ms Lindsay said Ms Williams called her on Friday night, after news broke of the incident, to apologise.

“I was so angry, I just told her what I thought of her and what I think of drink driving,” Ms Lindsay said.

Ms Lindsay said the meeting should have been rescheduled.

“If they were going to be drinking at an afterparty at work, reschedule us. It was a serious meeting for us,” she said.

“This wasn’t a social event, this was about our kids.”

Mayor’s regret

 In a statement on Saturday, Ms Williams said she made “a serious error of judgement” and was deeply sorry but would not stand down as mayor.

She said she had spoken to Ms Lindsay and “expressed my deepest sorrow” over the incident.

Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner on Sunday confirmed Ms Williams had stood down from her role on the prestigious Brisbane Olympics 2032 board.

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A replacement for Ms Williams will be chosen on Friday by the Council of Mayors South East Queensland.

‘Untenable’ situation

A host of politicians and advocates at the weekend called for Ms Williams to resign from the Redland mayoralty, which she has held since 2012.

Queensland’s Youth Affairs and Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon, state MP Don Brown, and several Redland councillors all said Ms Williams should resign.

Federal opposition leader Peter Dutton also said community leaders “need to set a very strong example” in accountability.

Ms Linsday said the incident showed penalties for drink driving were not severe enough.

Ms Williams and Redland council have been contacted for comment.