A mother is campaigning for justice after her daughter was killed in a horror car crash by a truck driver who was allegedly high on ice, free on bail and disqualified.
Lisa Di Donato, 27, was hit on February 15 while waiting at traffic lights on her way home from yoga class in Rowville, Victoria.
Driver Jo Lim, who is known to police, smashed his truck into the side of her Mitsubishi Lancer, killing her instantly.
Now, Elena Di Donato is demanding that he be jailed for taking away her ‘wonderful’ daughter.
Lisa Di Donato (right), 27, was hit on February 15 while waiting at traffic lights on her way home from yoga class in Rowville, Victoria
Driver Jo Lim, who is known to police, smashed his truck into the side of her Mitsubishi Lancer, killing her instantly. Pictured: The scene of the crash
‘He has to be held accountable for what he has done — there has to be justice,’ she told the Sunday Herald Sun.
‘My daughter cannot lose her life and he only gets a few years and he goes out and nothing changes.
‘It’s just not right and it makes me angry. I’ve always taught my kids there are actions and there are consequences.’
Pharmacist Miss Di Donato, who had studied at Sydney University, had just moved in with her partner of 10 years, Shaun, and the couple were hoping to start a family together.
Now Elena Di Donato is demanding that the driver be jailed for taking away her ‘wonderful’ daughter (right)
Pharmacist Miss Di Donato (left), who had studied at Sydney University, had just moved in with her partner of 10 years, Shaun, and the couple were hoping to start a family together
Her father described her as ‘brimming with life,’ a ‘wonderful person’ and the ‘glue that held the family together’.
Mrs Di Donato said her daughter had texted her the day before her death saying: ‘Happy Valentine’s Day. You will always be my Valentine.’
She said she took comfort in the fact that her daughter did not suffer because she didn’t see the crash coming.
In the context of the crash, Victorian police have warned that deaths involving drug-driving were far too common on the state’s roads.
Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer said: ‘Lisa is sadly one of the human faces of road trauma.’
It comes as eight people have died in six separate car accidents during a horrific 32 hours on NSW roads.
Her father described Miss Di Donato (right) as ‘brimming with life,’ a ‘wonderful person’ and the ‘glue that held the family together’
A 34-year-old man has been the last fatality when he died in a single-car crash in the Hunter Valley around 1.30am Saturday.
Two motorists were killed after their cars collided at 7.45am near Camden on the south western outskirts of Sydney.
A teenager was crushed to death when he became pinned between a wall and a car in Sydney’s north on Friday night.
The 18-year-old had been trying to stop an empty ute from rolling down a hill at around 8pm in Hornsby Heights when he became trapped by the out of control vehicle.
Another 18-year-old man died after his car hit a tree and burst into flames just after midnight on Friday near Cootamundra in the NSW Riverina, police said.
Two people have died in a horror car smash eerily close to a crash which claimed the life of Home and Away star Jessica Falkholt
A teenager was crushed to death when he became pinned between a wall and a car in Sydney’s north on Friday night (pictured)
The incident was followed by a truck rollover on the Pacific Highway south of Port Macquarie at 3.30am. The truck caught fire and the 57-year-old male driver was killed.
Two other drivers – a 52-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman – lost their lives in a head-on crash on the Princes Highway near Nowra about 5am, which closed the highway for several hours.
It was the same stretch of road which claimed the life of Home and Away star Jessica Falkholt and family – meaning seven have died on the stretch of road since Boxing Day.
The drivers were both the sole occupants in their cars when the horrific crash took place at 5.20am.
The Princes Highway has now reopened after earlier being closed in both directions while police investigated.
The crash scene on the Princess Highway on Boxing Day that claimed the life of Jessica Falkholt from Home and Away
Shocked New South Wales residents took to social media on Friday to express their distress about another accident on the highway.
‘Another road victim, We are losing too many, we must have a moral level of consciousness when we start and finish our day,’ one Facebook user said.
Another person said: ‘oh no not again.’
Meanwhile, a fuel tanker has crashed south of Armidale causing major delays on the New England Highway.
The driver was uninjured in the 6.40am crash, but the highway was closed as Hazmat crews decant the entire fuel load to another tanker.