Lanlan Yang, the 23-year-old Chinese woman at the centre of a high-profile car crash in Sydney, has pleaded not guilty to two additional charges over the incident. The crash, which occurred on 26 July in Rose Bay, involved a $1.5m Rolls-Royce SUV driven by Yang and a Mercedes driven by George Plassaras, a driver for radio host Kyle Sandilands. Plassaras suffered severe injuries.
Yang appeared via video link at Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, where she entered not guilty pleas to the new charges: dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm while under the influence, and driving with a middle-range prescribed concentration of alcohol. She was excused from appearing in person.
These charges come on top of four earlier counts, to which Yang had already pleaded not guilty in November. Those include refusing a breath analysis, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, failing to provide particulars to police, and negligent driving.
Last week, Yang admitted to breaching her bail conditions by failing to update her address. That matter was resolved after her lawyer, Michael Korn, applied for a bail review. It was also the first time Yang attended court in person, having previously appeared only via video.
The prosecutor has requested six weeks to prepare for the additional charges. Yang's lavish lifestyle has drawn significant media attention in both Australia and China. In a previous bail application, her lawyer stated she arrived in Australia at age 14.
