KEY POINTS:
A New Zealand driver who ran down and killed a promising young Queensland triathlete, Luke Harrop, was yesterday released from an Australian jail and deported.
Wellington-born Sandra Jaye Wilde was released just after am yesterday from Wacol Women's Prison and taken to Brisbane Airport to be flown to New Zealand, the Daily Telegraph newspaper in Sydney reported.
Wilde, 43, was on methadone, disqualified from driving, on bail and asleep at the wheel of a stolen car when she collided with Harrop in January 2002.
Wilde was sentenced to 26 months in jail, but had her sentence increased to five years by the Court of Appeal after public outrage.
But the father of her victim, Russell Harrop, said the system that allowed his son's killer to walk free after only four years was "a joke" and there was a danger she would repeat her crime.
"I think it's a good thing for Australia that they've deported her but somebody will have to keep an eye on her. She's likely to get out and do the same thing," Mr Harrop said.
"The whole problem with the system is it's too weak. They go strong on somebody who embezzles A$50 from someone and they go soft on someone who takes a life like she does.
"The justice system's a joke. It really is a joke."
Harrop, the 24-year-old younger brother of Olympic silver medallist Loretta Harrop, had been on a morning training ride on the Gold Coast when he was killed.
Wilde also served time in jail for unlawful use of a motor vehicle, burglary, stealing and dangerous drug offences. Wilde has a criminal history dating back 30 years and has had her licence cancelled four times.
She had her visa to live in Australia torn up by the Department of Immigration in March last year because of her "long and serious criminal history", a departmental spokesman said.
She has been banned from ever returning to Australia.
- NZPA