A New South Wales man who killed another driver in a head-on collision during a 188-kilometre-per-hour police pursuit has been sentenced to more than 10 years in jail.
On the morning of December 30, 2021, Moruya man Marc Anthony Jessop, 49, was caught speeding by officers from the Cooma Highway Patrol, but a police pursuit lasted just a minute before it was called off when Jessop reached speeds greater than 180kph.
Later that morning, highway patrol officers from Queanbeyan began another pursuit of Jessop as he travelled along the Monaro Highway at Williamsdale.
During that pursuit, Jessop straddled the centre line of the road with his car and side-swiped two other vehicles before he crashed head-on into a third.
Data taken from the scene after the crash showed Jessop was travelling 188kph two seconds before impact. He was also found to have drugs and alcohol in his system.
The driver of the third car, Harri Jokinen, 56, was treated by paramedics at the scene but could not be revived.
During sentencing on Thursday in the Queanbeyan District Court, Judge Craig Smith addressed the victim's family, saying it was "likely impossible to put into words how devastating" their loss had been.
In sentencing Jessop, Judge Smith spoke of the responsibility all drivers held and said in this case "those responsibilities were cast aside by the offender with devastating circumstances".
Judge Smith said Jessop's criminal record was "extremely poor", including previous police pursuit offences, but that his moral culpability was reduced "because of his background of profound disadvantage".
Victim's daughter speaks of painful loss
Mr Jokinen's family quietly left the court once the sentence was handed down, instead expressing their sadness in a statement.
"There could be no good outcome today," the family said.
"Nothing will bring Harri back to us. We are relieved to have this day behind us."
At an earlier sentencing hearing, Mr Jokinen's daughter Lisa Jokinen read a victim impact statement, in which she described hearing the helicopter flying to the crash scene, without realising it was for her father.
"I recall saying out loud 'I hope everyone is OK'," Ms Jokinen said.
The court heard she had developed complex post-traumatic stress disorder since her father's death, as well as an eating disorder, and only recently returned to full-time work.
"I feel trapped in my home, in myself, and I feel helpless," she said.
Mr Jokinen's partner, Elizabeth Adamson, also read a victim impact statement, in which she described her late partner as her soulmate.
"I don't think I believed in that concept until I met him," she said.
She also told the court she regularly drove past the crash site, when travelling between Canberra and the NSW South Coast.
'I would change places in an instant'
Jessop told the court he was driving to Canberra at the time of the offence "to try and get more drugs".
The Moruya man also said he had a history of mental health issues and substance abuse, after he was sexually abused at the age of 11.
He apologised directly to the victim's family for their loss.
"There are no words to say to their family except I'm so, so sorry for what happened," he said.
"I would change places in an instant."
He also said he was deeply affected by the loss of his father in 2015.
"That's why I hate myself so much for what's happened to this whole family," he said.
"Harri sounded like a good man, a good father, a good mate."
Jessop was sentenced to 10 years and 8 months in jail for manslaughter and other charges related to burglaries at a Michelago petrol station and the Nimmitabel bakery on the same morning as the police pursuits.
He will be eligible for parole in May 2029.
