A MAN has told a court he will be haunted for the rest of his life by a tragic crash which killed a young girl and a Port Stephens woman when a "freak gust of wind" pushed his vehicle onto the wrong side of the road.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced in Armidale District Court on Tuesday to a good behaviour order for two years after pleading guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing death.
The man, now in his 40s, was towing a campervan as he drove his family home to Tamworth from a beach holiday on the afternoon of September 26, 2020, when he collided with a 72-year-old woman travelling south on Thunderbolts Way.
The charge relates to the death of the woman. A young girl who was a backseat passenger in the man's vehicle also died at the scene, near Nowendoc.
The man gave evidence at the sentencing that he still suffered flashbacks.
"It haunts me to this day and for the rest of my life it will," he told the court.
A letter handwritten by the man to the woman's family was handed up, and the court was told one motivation for his guilty plea was to help give her family some closure.
The woman's husband of 42 years gave an emotional victim impact statement in court.
"Your Honour, there's no denying that this mater has been, and remains, tragic to a level almost beyond understanding," he said.
"There are no winners here."
He said he was haunted daily by the thought of the "absolute horror" his wife must have experienced in the moments before she died.
He detailed to the court the significant mental, emotional, social and physical toll the loss had taken on him and his family, and how he had to leave the home the couple had shared in Port Stephens.
Defence barrister Ertunc Ozen SC and Crown prosecutor Lee Carr SC agreed there was a "perfect storm" of circumstances that led to the crash, and neither side could find any similar cases from the past.
The court heard the man was travelling at 20km per hour below the signposted speed limit on a slightly uphill and exposed section of road when a "freak gust of wind" or "high velocity cross lateral wind" hit the vehicle and campervan.
Mr Ozen said there was no evidence the man had any steering input when the vehicle was pushed onto the wrong side of the road, but that the dangerous driving occurred across a couple of seconds when he failed to move to the left again.
"This is a momentary failure to negotiate the vehicle back after experiencing an extraordinary event," Mr Ozen said.
He submitted it was so far out of the average driving experience it would have caused some shock.
Mr Ozen said if there had been a difference of 50m either way, the tragic crash would not have occurred.
"All of this happened very, very quickly," Mr Carr agreed.
The court was handed two expert reports, and also heard from witnesses on the road that day about how windy it was.
Written submissions were tendered, as well as a medical report, affidavits and testimonials from the defence.
Judge Stephen Hanley accepted that the man's moral culpability fell towards the lowest end, that there were no aggravating factors, and that he was a highly regarded man of good character.
He said he was satisfied the man had taken full responsibility and demonstrated profound remorse, and that he would be affected by what happened for the rest of his life.
"The offence is serious, as underlined by the tragic loss of life," he said.
Judge Hanley told the court that although it was somewhat unusual, he found that in the circumstances, a jail term was not appropriate.
The man was suspended from driving at the time he was charged in the days after the crash, and Judge Hanley found he had been off the road for a sufficient amount of time, allowing the suspension to expire on Tuesday.
