A 24-year-old meth driver has been jailed for more than two years after he got behind the wheel of a car and killed a young mother.
David Anthony Kay was driving his mother to work on June 21 last year, when he lost control and slid onto the wrong side of the road in Chain of Ponds, north west of Adelaide, reports The Advertiser.
Bae Karl-Perry, 26, was a passenger in her partner Alex Vickers’ car and died at the scene of head injuries.
Bae Karl-Perry had just dropped off her eldest child (pictured with all three) before she died
Ms Karl-Perry (pictured) was killed by the drug driver in a crash at Chain of Ponds in June 2016
Ms Karl-Perry and Mr Vickers had just dropped over their eldest child Lucas, four, at child care.
Their two other children Bailey, three, and 16-month-old Julian were also in the back of the car at the time of the crash.
On Monday, District Court Judge Liesl Chapman sentenced Kay, 24, to two years and eight months jail with a non-parole period of 21 months.
She refused to suspend the sentence or place Kay on home detention, and said driving under the influence of methamphetamine was a serious offence.
‘Your consumption of methamphetamine had adversely affected your driving at the time of the collision,’ she said during sentencing.
‘Fatigue from lack of sleep combined with the rebound affects from your use of methamphetamine did, in fact, affect you at the time.
‘The community has zero tolerance for drug drivers and, here, the consequences of your drug taking have been the death of one person and the injury of another.
‘People who choose to use methamphetamine need to understand not only that the drug has direct affects which occur at the time of its use but also that it has rebound affects which continue for a long period of time after consumption.
‘The consequences of your offending have been devastating.
Four victim impact statements were read to the court.
‘She was herself a young person, she had a partner, three children all under the age of five years and had finished her course and got her diploma in advertising.
Mr Vickers described how he has lost the love of his life and his children have lost their mother.
‘Their grief and their loss is profound,’ District Court Judge Liesl Chapman said.
The 26-year-old mother of three (pictured) was a passenger in the car and died of head injuries
The week after the crash, Ms Karl-Perry’s parents Monica Karl and James Perry spoke to the publication about the loss of their beloved daughter and revealed that just two days before the crash, she had completed a business diploma.
‘It was the new her — she hadn’t reinvented herself but decided she wanted something for when her children were a bit older,’ Monica Karl said.
‘She was so glad she got her diploma.
‘They live day-to-day but the kids have never gone without — she was very dedicated to her motherhood.
‘Bae lived for her kids, they were her life and she’s left a beautiful legacy,’ she added.
Mr Kay was sentenced to two years and eight months for killing Ms Karl-Perry (pictured)