A Junee man has been jailed over the fatal crash of a woman after her family members detailed the moment they found out their loved one would never come home.
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Lachlan Landrigan, 24, appeared at Wagga District Court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death earlier in the year.
On May 31, 2020, Landrigan was driving a utility - owned and registered by Olivia Clements, who was sitting in the front passenger seat - when he approached a right-hand bend on Pattersons Road, Harefield.
After failing to navigate the turn, the car crashed and Ms Clements died.
Ms Clements daughter Brooke provided a written impact statement to the court in which she detailed the night she found out her mum had died.
When there was a loud knock on the door, and she answered it, a police officer told Brooke, "I'm really sorry, but your mum's been in a car accident, and she has died at the scene, we were unable to save your mum".
"As I got older, my mum and I had this inseparable bond that grew so strong," Brooke wrote.
"I just know I would never put someone through something like this, and I would never wish it upon anyone."
Alison Clements, the mother of Olivia Clements, said the grief at finding out her daughter was dead was "immense".
"Just as I think I am moving on and the pain is subsiding, something comes up ... and suddenly I feel as though I've not moved at all," she wrote. "It's still May 31, 2020, and I was just told by two police officers that my daughter was dead."
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In sentencing, Judge Jon Williams said Landrigan's criminal record did not entitle him to any particular leniency, noting he was on conditional liberty at the time of the crash.
He said investigations had established that speed, mechanical defects, the condition of the road and weather were not factors in the crash.
Judge Williams referenced the report of a forensic psychiatrist which noted Landrigan was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 11 or 12, was exposed to violence in the family home and began using drugs at 14.
But he was "largely abstinent from drugs" for three years before relapsing at the end of 2019. In the psychiatric report, Landrigan was quoted saying he regrets the crash "more than words can describe".
"All the damage I caused her family. Words can't describe all the pain and regret I feel from it," he said.
Landrigan has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and the psychiatrist recommended he remain under the care of health professionals and be put in touch with relevant programs.
Judge Williams said the report ranked Landrigan as being of moderate to high risk of reoffending. However, it noted he has family support, had abstained from drugs in the past and availed himself of psychological treatment both in the community and custody.
"Perhaps Mr Landrigan was unprepared for the bend that came up," Judge Williams said. "However, any driver paying attention wouldn't have had any difficulty in negotiating this gradual curve."
Judge Williams made a finding of special circumstances and acknowledged the early plea, but said there was a need for him to be closely supervised to ensure his rehabilitation.
Landrigan was sentenced to three years and nine months in jail, backdated to October 4, 2020. He will be eligible for release in October, 2022. He was also convicted for contravening an AVO, but no penalty was imposed.
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