Meth truckie killed husband, son
A grieving woman whose husband and son died when a truck driver high on methamphetamine ploughed into their car says she is disappointed by the five-year jail term handed to the driver.
Kevin Altimo Paki and his son Brian were trapped inside their burning car after it was hit by a truck driven by Jeffrey Moyle in February last year.
District Court Judge Mark Herron jailed Moyle yesterday after finding he was driving while under the influence of the drug.
Outside court, widow and mother Margaret Paki said she felt Moyle's sentence over the death of her loved ones was too short.
"My family is really broken," she said. "When he mentioned five years, I was not really quite happy because I will never get back my husband or my son."
Mr Paki's car was stationary at a railway crossing in Kellerberrin when it was hit from behind by Moyle's prime mover.
Amber warning lights were flashing about 150m from the crossing to warn of an oncoming train at the time of the crash.
Moyle told police he looked down to pick up his cigarettes and when he turned his attention back to the road, there was a car in front of him.
But Judge Herron said the main reason Moyle failed to see the warning lights and boom gates was because he was drug-affected.
"Your concentration, reaction times and ability to safely drive were impaired," he said.
Moyle admitted taking meth in the days before he left NSW to drive to Perth with another man.
Judge Herron said he could not be certain when Moyle last used the drug.
"In my view, your failure to safely and properly control the prime mover was more than momentary inattention," he said.
Moyle was driving at more than 72km/h when he hit Mr Paki's car.
The court was told a train driver braked and repeatedly sounded his horn when he noticed the truck moving towards the crossing at high speed.
Moyle suffered fractures to his neck in a car crash in 2007 and is in a wheelchair.
His mother Rhonda Moyle said she was sorry for the Paki family and for her own family.
"We have all lost children, we have all lost loved ones," she said.
"Nothing will ever stop us from loving our son."
Moyle will be eligible for parole after three years in jail.
