Former Collingwood AFL player Shannon John Cox has been sentenced to 10 years and six months’ imprisonment, with parole eligibility after 8 years and six months, for causing a deadly head-on collision in Western Australia.
The crash, which occurred on June 7, 2024, on the Brand Highway near Cooljarloo (about 170 km north of Perth), claimed the lives of two elderly women, Coral Seinor (83) and Thelma Clausen (82), who were travelling in a Suzuki hatchback.
At the time of the crash, Cox was behind the wheel of a Toyota Prado that drifted into oncoming traffic. The vehicle first struck the side of a road train’s trailer, spun, then collided head-on with the hatchback carrying the two women.
Toxicology results revealed 0.77 mg of methamphetamine and amphetamine in Cox’s system. The court was told that he had smoked methamphetamine days before the crash and had only about four hours of sleep the night preceding it.
His 12-year-old daughter was in the car at the time and sustained minor injuries.
Cox pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter. During sentencing, the court considered his longstanding history of drug abuse and previous convictions for driving with methamphetamine in his system.
Justice Stephen Lemonis acknowledged Cox’s troubled past but emphasized that his decision to drive under the influence had catastrophic consequences. The judge remarked that illicit drug use had “been a prevailing feature” of Cox’s life since 2016, and that his actions posed a great danger to others.
In addition to the prison sentence, Cox’s driver’s licence has been disqualified for four years following his release.
The families of the victims described their lives as irreparably shattered. Leanne Clausen read a victim impact statement, saying her mother and Ms Seinor had been lifelong friends, deeply involved in their community, and that the crash had left them with a grief they would carry forever.
This tragic verdict marks the culmination of a case that has drawn national attention, highlighting issues of drug abuse, road safety, and accountability even from former public figures.
