David Berry, 44, of Seymour, pleaded guilty in the Shepparton County Court to theft, culpable driving causing death, failing to stop after an accident and a summary charge of unlicensed driving.
Berry stole a Ford Ranger ute from a tradie doing maintenance work at the Euroa Hotel at 3pm on May 8, 2024, after the tradie left his keys and other belongings in a breakfast bar area of the hotel.
Just over an hour later, Berry crashed head-on into father-of-two Peter Tate, who was riding his motorbike on the Maroondah Hwy at Yarck.
A police collision reconstruction expert said Berry was travelling at about 134km/h when he hit the motorbike, after travelling on to the wrong side of the road.
His blood alcohol concentration at the time of the crash was estimated to be between 0.129 and 0.187.
He also had a methamphetamine concentration of 0.27mg/l in his system and was unlicensed.
After the crash, Berry continued to drive another 560m from the crash site, despite his front passenger axle and tyre having disconnected from the vehicle.
He was picked up by a police officer almost three hours later walking along the highway about 5km from the crash scene.
In sentencing Berry, Judge Pandeep Tiwana referred to victim impact statements written by Mr Tate’s two daughters and ex-wife, saying that the pain Berry inflicted on them was “immense and enduring”.
Jessica Tate said the grief over her father’s death “lives with us and will never leave”.
His other daughter, Laura Tate, said the grief she felt was “constant and overwhelming”.
“Not a single day passes without feeling his absence,” she said.
“He was deeply valued.
“His life mattered and the impact of his death continues to be felt every single day.”
Judge Tiwana said Berry’s culpable driving was a “serious example” of the offence and, as such, imposed a higher sentence than was standard.
“At the time, you were on the wrong side of the road and speeding,” he said.
“You were unlicensed and never should have been behind the wheel.
“You had a high level of impairment of drugs and alcohol.”
Judge Tiwana also referred to the man’s driving earlier before the crash, with two people telling police of the excessive speeds he was travelling at on the wrong side of the road.
He also said that while Berry claimed to have no memory of the crash, a reasonable person would have known that the collision would have caused death or injury, but Berry still decided to leave the scene.
“It was your driving and lack of control that was the sole cause of the collision,” Judge Tiwana said.
The judge also spoke of mitigating factors raised by the defence, including a childhood marred by violence.
He spoke of Berry starting to drink alcohol and use drugs at a young age and told of previous convictions, including four for drink-driving, one for refusing a breath test and three each for driving while disqualified and driving unlicensed.
Berry has also spent three years in prison for other matters, before being released in 2022 without supports in the community, which had seen him recommence his drug use, leading Judge Tiwana to say he did not have “real optimism” about Berry’s prospects of rehabilitation.
Berry was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with a non-parole period of seven years and six months.
The 563 days he has spent in pre-sentence detention counts as time already served.
He was also disqualified from obtaining a driver’s licence for 10 years.
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