By Tara Cosoleto, AAP
A Victorian driver who killed a much-loved father while high on ice has sobbed in court as he admitted he never should have been behind the wheel.
Corey Comport, 24, was travelling close to 170km/h when he crashed into a Jeep on the Bulla-Diggers Rest Road northwest of Melbourne on August 30 last year.
The force of the collision caused the Jeep to slam into a Toyota Kluger driven by Nirvair Singh, who died at the scene from significant head and chest injuries.
Comport pleaded guilty on Monday, October 23, in the Victorian County Court to culpable driving causing the 44-year-old man’s death.
Mr Singh’s wife Harpreet Kaur said his passing had left a void in her heart that seemed impossible to fill.
“Every moment, my thoughts are consumed with memories of him,” she told the court through tears.
“I’m doing my best to find the strength to carry on.”
Ms Kaur said she felt the burden of being the sole parent to her two young sons, wanting to support them while also dealing with her grief.
The boys also wrote victim impact statements to the court, where they described how much they missed their father.
“My life will be very quiet and not joyful because my dad is not with me,” one of the boys said.
“Life will be very difficult without him.”
Comport, seated at the back of the courtroom, quietly sobbed as he listened to the family’s statements.
The court was told the 24-year-old had been travelling 168km/h in a 80km/h zone when he struck the Jeep about 3.30pm on August 30 last year.
He had evaded cops twice in the preceding 30 minutes, with multiple drivers later telling police they were scared as he weaved between lanes and overtook them.
A roadside drug test showed he was under the influence of GHB, methamphetamine and ketamine.
The driver of the Jeep escaped serious injury but she told the court she still struggled to get behind the wheel.
“(The crash) has cast a long dark shadow over my once fulfilling existence,” she said in her victim impact statement.
In a sentencing discussion with Indigenous elders, Comport sobbed and admitted the fatal crash never should have happened.
He apologised to Mr Singh’s family and friends, saying he stuffed up and he felt horrible.
“I wish I was never on the road,” he told the court.
Comport admitted he had been given chances in the past and he wanted to “change his life and become a better person” once he was eventually released from jail.
The 24-year-old is planning to move interstate with his brother and start his life over again, away from drugs and bad influences.
County Court Judge Scott Johns adjourned the case to a further plea hearing in December so more psychological material could be obtained.
Comport was remanded in custody to his next court date.
