Drug driver jailed over double fatality
A crash driver who was high on drugs, speeding at up to 170kmh in a stolen car and breaching red lights has been jailed 11 years for taking the life of a taxi driver and his British passenger who had just arrived in Perth.
Antony Fogarty, who has five children, was affected by cannabis and amphetamines when he sped along major roads and through suburban areas in October 2012, at times crossing to the wrong side of the road as he evaded police.
He collided with Kuldeep Singh's taxi in Kewdale, which had been obeying a green light turn and travelling only 35kmh.
His actions instantly killed Mr Singh, 28, and his passenger, UK physicist Sean Barrett, 36, who had just arrived in Perth for a conference and had recently surviving cancer.
His crime also left Mr Singh's baby daughter, who was due a month after the tragedy, never knowing her father.
This morning, the Supreme Court was told Fogarty had emerged from the stolen car after the collision screaming about pain in his leg and claiming he was not the driver despite witness suggestions he was lying.
His victims died instantly with the taxi bursting into flames as a result of the collision.
Police had earlier been pursuing Fogarty but had stopped the chase prior to the crash, which was witnessed by officers in a police helicopter.
Today, the judge accepted Fogarty was remorseful but said his crimes were among the worst of their kind and that the crash was almost inevitable given his manner of driving.
One red light camera caught him breaching the signal at 170kmh. He had also sped past a booze bus and was estimated to be speeding on an average of 152kmh in the 20km leading to the crash.
The court was told he had never held a driver's licence.
Outside court, Fogarty's mother Faye Fogarty expressed sorrow for the family of her son's victims, noting a young girl would grow up without her father.
"He's got to do his time now," she said, stressing that he was genuinely remorseful.
The court was told Mr Singh's wife, who had married him a year before he died, had been left extremely lonely.
A victim impacts statement from Dr Barrett's mother described how her grief remained as raw as it had when she first learnt of his death.
He was described as a generous and kind man who had studied quantum physics at Cambridge and become interested in microbiology after surviving cancer in 2010.
Fogarty, who had a history of drug abuse, had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his crime.
He had pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter after the case was committed for trial.
Fogarty must serve nine years before he can apply for release on parole.
