A court has heard of the devastation caused to the family of beloved Ballarat woman Kylie Pope, who was killed by a speeding, intoxicated driver in 2020.
Ms Pope was in a car driven by her son on Colac-Ballarat Road in October 2020, when their vehicle stalled during a U-turn.
Ross Blackmore, 45, was cresting a hill in his vehicle and "didn't see the car until it was too late", hitting it at 130kph near the town of Napoleons.
Colac-Ballarat Road was downgraded from an 80kph zone to 60kph in early 2020.
The former concreter from Enfield was found to have methylamphetamines and cannabis in his system.
Blackmore pleaded guilty this morning to one charge of culpable driving causing Ms Pope's death.
'I lost my soulmate'
Prosecutor Melissa Mahady read victim impact statements from Ms Pope's son, husband and sister.
"No child should see their parent die that way," wrote her son.
"Mum won't get to be at my wedding … or be at my 21st birthday … I will never hear her say I'm proud of you.
"I don't know if I will ever be OK."
Blackmore, who appeared in Ballarat County Court via video link from Ravenhall Correctional Centre, cried while a letter from Ms Pope's husband Peter was read to the court.
"I lost my soulmate … every night when I go to bed, I'm reminded Kylie isn't there," Mr Pope wrote.
"There is no laughter … that was my best friend … I miss Kylie's smile, I miss our talks at the end of the day.
"This is a sentence we have to live with for the rest of our lives."
Defence argues offending in mid-range
Family members and loved ones were present in the court during the plea hearing today.
In sentencing submissions to Judge Paul Lacava, defence counsel Jon Irwin said Blackmore had faced anxiety, depression and cardiac issues since the crash.
Mr Irwin argued Blackmore's offending was in the mid-range level, but the man understood he would be facing more jail time.
"In my submission … there is far worse [driving] offending," Mr Irwin said.
"But it's a complete and total disaster … a tragedy."
Scholarship created in Ms Pope's name
Ms Mahady said a report concluded the level of drugs in Blackmore's system would have prevented him from having the proper motor vehicle skills to control his car.
"This is a serious example of a driving offence … [and the] prosecution argues the offending sits above the mid-range of offending," she said.
She also argued the fact Ms Pope wasn't wearing a seatbelt during the time of the crash should not have any impact on a sentence.
Blackmore will be sentenced at a later date and has been remanded in custody.
In August this year, the Pope family opened a federation university scholarship to honour Ms Pope.
The Kylie Pope scholarship is for TAFE students to undertake studies in early childhood education care, to celebrate Ms Pope's career in early learning.
