The family of a man, who died after being hit head-on by a speeding driver during a police pursuit, has described "unbearable" sadness and the "complete destruction of [their] lives".
Members of the family broke their silence on Wednesday as the driver, Marc Anthony Jessop, told Queanbeyan District Court he was "in a hurry to get drugs" and "scared" of police at the time of the crash.
The 49-year-old previously pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter, dangerous driving and not stopping during a police pursuit, driving a stolen car, driving while disqualified and two counts of aggravated breaking, entering and stealing.
Jessop, of Moruya, collided head-on with a Mitsubishi on the Monaro Highway, just outside the ACT, on December 30, 2021.
The driver of the Mitsubishi, 56-year-old Harri Jokinen, died at the scene.
Earlier that day, about 2am, Jessop and two other men stole items from a petrol station in Michelago and Nimmitabel Bakery.
At 10.28am, police started a pursuit of a stolen black Holden Commodore, driven by Jessop, but it was terminated due to the vehicle's excessive speed of about 180kmh in a 100kmh zone.
About 20 minutes later, the vehicle was spotted by Queanbeyan highway patrol officers on the Monaro Highway.
A second police pursuit commenced in Williamsdale.
Police planned to stop the vehicle with a tyre deflation device before the ACT border.
The Commodore side-swiped two other vehicles as it straddled the centre line of the road.
Jessop then collided head-on with a Mitsubishi coming from the other direction.
The victim, Mr Jokinen, was unresponsive and trapped in his vehicle.
Mr Jokinen was cut from the car by emergency services and, despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Court documents state data from the stolen vehicle showed it was travelling at more than 188kmh in the seconds before the airbag was deployed.
On Wednesday, Mr Jokinen's eldest daughter, Lisa Jokinen, read a victim impact statement out to the court.
She said her father had died in a "completely senseless and incomprehensible manner" which had resulted in "the complete destruction of [their] lives".
The daughter told the court her dad was "kind and gentle".
On the day he died, Ms Jokinen was at Namadgi National Park and saw a helicopter.
She recalled saying: "I hope everyone is OK."
In her statement to the court, she said she didn't get 100 metres into the bush before receiving a phone call saying her dad had been killed.
"I needed to spend two weeks in the psychiatric unit," Ms Jokinen said.
The university honours student said she was now unable to hold down a job, and had forgotten large chunks of her education and research due to post-traumatic stress disorder.
"The sadness and loss I feel at times is unbearable," Ms Jokinen said.
"I hate that I'Il never get to see my dad again, I'll never get to hug him, tell him that I love him or hear him say it back.
"We'll never be able to share anything ever again."
Mr Jokinen's partner, Libby Adamson, also read a statement to the court.
"Harri was my soulmate, I don't think I believed in that concept until I met him," she said.
"Grief has been part of every second of every day [since he died]."
Giving evidence, Jessop apologised to the family, saying he wished he could swap places with Mr Jokinen.
Jessop detailed a childhood where drinking and illicit drug use became a daily habit from 11 years old.
He said this was combined with mental health problems and multiple suicide attempts.
Jessop claimed he was speeding on the day of the crash because he was "in a hurry to get to Canberra to get drugs".
He said he was now using illicit drugs while in jail, and drinking hand sanitiser "to get drunk and block things out".
The court heard Jessop had multiple high-range drink-driving convictions dating back decades, and had also been involved in several previous police pursuits.
Jessop told the court in the lead-up to his most recent crimes, he had consumed beers, cannabis, methamphetamine and opioids.
The offender, who was driving a stolen car, with no licence, after breaking and entering, claimed he was "scared" of police.
"I sped up to try and get away," he said.
"I wasn't really thinkin' at the time."
Judge Craig Smith plans to sentence Jessop on Thursday.
