In the eyes of a grieving mother, four years' jail might be "long enough" for the drunk driver who killed her 19-year-old daughter, Kaileigh Fryer.
The sentence would be long enough if Michael John Severino left prison and devoted himself to drink-driving education, Michelle Fryer said. It would be long enough if one accident was prevented and one mother was spared the pain she had felt.
Severino, 25, sat hunched over at the Sydney Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday morning as he awaited sentencing for aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death. He and Ms Fryer, a student, had been drinking in Manly in the early hours of April 9 last year.
At 4.15am Severino was driving his red Toyota Corolla along Mona Vale Road at 105km/h with Ms Fryer in the passenger seat. He failed to make a slight left-hand curve, the car flipped two to three times and Ms Fryer was thrown on to the road where she died of her injuries.
"Michael John Severino embarked on a highly perilous journey with fatal consequences," Judge Donna Woodburne said. "As a result, Kaileigh Fryer is dead."
Severino pleaded not guilty, maintaining since the accident he could not remember who had been driving. He had blown .161 after the crash. His defence barrister said Ms Fryer, who held an automatic licence, could have driven a manual in fifth gear while drunk. But the jury and judge rejected that possibility.
In the minutes after the crash, Severino told a police officer he would not incriminate himself by answering questions. He then told a paramedic and another police officer he had been driving.
"The admission was made at the time because he was in fact – and he knew he was in fact – the driver of the car," Judge Woodburne said. "That is so even if he cannot remember it now."
Ms Fryer had talked of completing a second degree and joining the army. She kept a "bucket list" of things she wanted to achieve before she died. Since her death, friends, family and strangers have achieved almost all of the items on the list. "Join a salsa class" and "start an orphanage" are two that remain.
Severino told the court last week that Ms Fryer had been like a little sister; she had called him "big brother". "I spend every waking moment wishing I could trade places with her, just like any loving brother would," he said.
Judge Woodburne noted Severino's good character and lack of criminal record, as well as his symptoms of depression and post traumatic stress disorder. But she also considered "the offender's driving ability was very substantially impaired as a result of the alcohol he had consumed".
Judge Woodburne sentenced Severino to six years and nine months' jail, with a non-parole period of four years.
