Two families had to be kept physically separated by ACT court staff as Canberra man Ameen Hamdan was sentenced over the death of 16-year-old Alexis Saaghy.
Hamdan, now 20 years old, was found guilty of negligent driving causing death, after his car hit a tree in 2020, causing catastrophic injuries to Ms Saaghy.
Hamdan, who was 18 at the time of the crash, was also found guilty of culpable driving causing grievous bodily harm, relating to a back-seat passenger, who suffered a broken arm and internal injuries.
In court on Monday, Ms Saaghy's father, Joel Saaghy, gave a harrowing account of his daughter's death and the grief that followed.
"It leaves a hole in my heart that will never grow back," he said.
"You were an adult, Alexis was a minor, you should have kept her safe," Mr Saaghy said, addressing Hamdan directly.
Later, during another victim impact statement being read to the court about exchanges made on Facebook after the crash, both families became agitated, as Ms Saaghy's father accused one of Hamdan's supporters of laughing.
Security staff had to hold the two groups apart in the courtroom as they traded heated threats.
'She was slaughtered'
The tensions were eventually calmed before Ms Saaghy's mother, Claire Wood, gave her victim impact statement, telling the court she felt like she had died with her daughter.
"Her heart stopped, I felt it stop," she said.
"I died with her in that moment and then the world ended.
"I can tell you what hell looks like and it's this."
Ms Wood also addressed Hamdan, accusing him of showing no remorse over her daughter's death.
She raised a comment Hamdan had made immediately after the crash when he was asked about the girl in the car and responded: "what girl?".
"She should be here with her family," Ms Wood said.
"Instead, she was slaughtered and died an avoidable death."
But, in submissions handed to the court, Hamdan's lawyers said he had shown remorse, telling the author of a pre-sentence report he accepted responsibility for his actions and did not attempt to pass blame.
Hamdan maintains he has no memory of the accident, in which he also suffered a head injury and damage to one eye.
He wrote a letter of apology to Ms Saaghy's family.
"Not a day goes by that I don't feel how terrible the outcome was and how responsible I am for Alexis's death and causing a badly broken arm for my best friend," he said.
"Alexis was the kindest most sweet girl I knew and immediately after I knew about Alexis's death I faced serious depression and anxiety and felt that life was not worth living."
Outside court, Ms Saaghy's father described his daughter as a "vibrant, fun-loving soul" who "was loved by everyone".
"I don't think there are any words that can describe the loss of Alexis, not only for myself and her mother and her siblings … but a loss overall to the community and to humanity," Mr Saaghy said.
"She had such great ambitions and to know that she's not going to be able to fulfil them is heartbreaking."
Hamdan called himself a 'drift king' before crash
During the trial, the jury heard Hamdan had been driving his friends between different homes on the night of the crash and was taking one of them home when the accident occurred.
A video taken shortly before the crash on Ms Saaghy's phone shows Hamdan calling himself "Ameen Hamdan, drift king" with the song Tokyo Drift in the background.
The court heard evidence that the ute had possibly hit one gutter, veered across the road and driven over the opposite one before hitting a tree.
Ms Saaghy died three days later in the hospital after her life support was turned off.
Justice Michael Elkaim noted the elements in the crash had been the dark, the rain and Hamdan's lack of experience as a driver.
He said it clearly was not on purpose, but it was not an accident.
"It was a product of negligent driving," Justice Elkaim said.
"I have no doubt he is remorseful. The act of negligence has had the most terrible consequence."
Justice Elkaim said he was faced with a dilemma over whether to send a young man with good prospects of rehabilitation to jail.
He said he felt it was important to send a message of general deterrence to others about dangerous driving.
But, in the end, he decided Hamdan could spend his sentence in the community.
Justice Elkaim sentenced Hamdan to a 24-month intensive corrections order.
Hamdan's licence was also cancelled.
