Bailey Hogan-Jones used ice for two hours and crashed into a van in the suburb of Flora Hill in Bendigo a week at Christmas in December 2018, Victoria County Court announced Tuesday.
The 20-year-old was driving at full speed on his Ford Falcon down the road when he crashed into a van on Somerville St.
His 21-year-old girlfriend, Nukyah Gunthorpe, thrown from the front passenger seat to the hood. He died in hospital after the turn of fate as a result of his injuries.
“Is my friend dead? I told him I didn’t need to drive,” he told the rescuers after an accident.
He also told the police at the scene, “I told him I didn’t need to drive because I had smoked ice.”
Blood tests at the hospital showed that the driving force had ice in his system.
Police had seen the couple minutes before the accident, accelerating with a soft red light and leading to twice the 60 km/h limit to stick to the Ford Falcon.
Hogan-Jones, now 22, pleaded guilty to driving as a result of the turn of fate and was released on bail for an unrelated offense at the time. The car he was driving wasn’t registered either.
Prosecutors said he was driving between 98 km/128 km when he crashed into the van. But his lawyers question the speed at which he travels.
His victim’s circle of family and friends was heartbroken after Gunthorpe’s death.
Her mom told her that her daughter’s last words were “I love you mom” before texting her promising she’d be home soon.
“I had to see my daughter’s face and damaged body,” the woman’s mother said in tears.
Hogan-Jones’ lawyer told the court that the case was “particularly tragic” and that he had tried to get his life back on track after the couple’s nine-day-old son died in the months leading up to the accident.
The pre-conviction hearing continues with County Court Judge Kevin Doyle.