A West Australian woman has been jailed after she admitted she was high on cocaine and meth when she killed another driver in a high-speed crash.
Abbey Rose Sheriff, 21, died after she was hit by Evie Butterworth, 30,along theKwinana Freeway near Baldavis, in south Perth,just before midnight on January 11, 2023.
Ms Sheriff's parents,Julie and Darren, said they were 'never going to heal' from their loss even after their daughter's killer was sentenced to prison on Thursday.
Butterworth was on a cocktail of drugs while travelling150km/h, more than 40km/h over the speed limit in the area, in herNissan Maxima when she collided withMs Sheriff'sNissan X-Trail.
TheNissan X-Trail was propelled 94 metres from the crash site before coming to a stop near a bike lane on the side of the road where two other drivers tried to help Ms Sheriff.
They were unable to free her from the wreckage and Ms Sheriff died before paramedics arrived. Butterworth was unaware that she had even hit another car due to her level of intoxication.
Butterworth told bystanders that she was in fact the victim of a hit-and-run and that she had been side-swiped by another car earlier in the night.
She was seen wiping away tears in court asJustice Alain Musikanth of the WA Supreme Court sentenced her to nine and a half years in prison, reported the ABC.
Abbey Rose Sheriff's parents, Julie and Darren, (pictured together) said they will never recover from losing their daughter in a high-speed crash in Perth in January 2023
Evie Butterworth, 30, was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison for manslaughter after she admitted to being high on cocaine and meth while speeding at the time of the crash
Ms Sheriff's parents said they were 'somewhat content' with Butterworth's sentence outside the court while tearfully adding that it will not bring their daughter back.
'We got the higher end of sentencing and that's what we hoped for,'Ms Sheriff's mother said.
'I mean the time is never enough [but] under all the evidence, it's appropriate.
'We just miss her and we love her. Our lives are forever changed now.'
Butterworth'slawyer, Ashleigh Antoine, said her client did not remember the crash at all and that she now accepted never having been side-swiped by another car on the night.
Initially Butterworth had lied to paramedics who asked her on the night if she was intoxicated, telling them 'no' despite the cocaine and methamphetamine in her system.
The former childcare worker was fined $300for driving under the influence of meth in 2018.
Both Ms Sheriff's parents refused to accept an apology written by Butterworth which was delivered to them in early November.
Butterworth had no recollection of the crash due to the drugs in her system but her lawyer told the WA Supreme Court that she now accepted the recollections of others as fact
Ms Sheriff, 21, died after being hit by Butterworth along the Kwinana Freeway near Baldavis, in south Perth, just before midnight on January 11, 2023
'We've only just received letters three weeks ago before the last hearing, so if there was deep remorse we would have heard within six months of our daughter passing away,' Ms Sheriff's mother said.
Witnesses at the scene of the crash who told Butterworth what happened did recall her being remorseful and immediately wishing that she was the one who died at the time, the court heard.
State prosecutor Kade Rosenthal said the crash was treated as a serious example of motor vehicle manslaughter given Butterworth's speed and intoxication behind the wheel.
Mr Rosenthal said the amount of drugs in Butterworth's system when matched with the speed she was travelling had placed the public in 'significant danger'.
Justice Musikanth agreed, adding that Butterworth's actions had been 'extremely dangerous' and showed a 'complete disregard for the safety of other road users'.
The Justice told the court he accepted Butterworth was remorseful but that she would be made an example of for the community as to what happens to dangerous drivers.
Butterworthwill be eligible for parole after she servesseven years and six months behind bars.
With time already served she may be able to walk free by early 2031, after which she will be banned from driving for another 10 years after her release.
Ms Sheriff's mother said she had lost her 'baby' and her 'best friend' (Ms Sheriff is pictured right) and that her family would 'never be the same' as a result
MsSheriff's parents cried outside court and told reporters that the sentence was appropriate but that it is still not enough to bring their daughter back
Ms Sheriff, who worked as a barista in Perth, was her parents only child.
Her mother said at the time of her death that she had lost her 'baby' and her 'best friend' and that the family would 'never be the same' as a result.
Her daughter's car has been donated tothe Royal Automobile Club (RAC) to be used in a youth road trauma forum focusing on the dangers of drug driving.
'You hear a lot about drink driving but never about drug use and what it can do to the family's and people that are left behind without their loved ones,' the mother said outside court.
'You're not only going to affect the victims but also their families forever.'
