Road rage driver jailed for manslaughter
A man convicted of the manslaughter of a father-of-four during a drug-fuelled road rage pursuit through a busy Perth street has been jailed for 13 years.
Rodney Allen Beard, 36, had earlier admitted to the unlawfully killing of Mark Noormets, who died instantly when his car was struck head-on near Byford in December 2012.
At the time Beard was chasing another driver Doug Wormall, whose car had already been deliberately rammed three times by Beard before the horrific collision which killed Mr Noormets.
As Beard overtook cars on the South Western Highway in pursuit of Mr Wormall he lost control, slid onto the wrong side of the road and smashed into Mr Noormet's Nissan 4WD head-on.
Beard was later found to have significant amount of methylamphetamine in his system, which a doctor said would have caused him to react with aggression and little fear.
Beard changed his plea on the second day of his trial earlier this year.
In sentencing at WA Supreme Court today, Justice Ralph Simmonds said Beard's driving had been appalling and reckless.
Prosecutor Laura Christian had earlier said it was almost inevitable someone would be seriously hurt or killed by Beard's driving.
"People need to be deterred from using vehicles as weapons," Ms Christian said.
In court, the sentencing had to be adjourned after an outburst from where he confirmed he could not remember anything of the incident, and he had only admitted the offences because of guilt over Mr Noormets death.
Beard was jailed for a total of 13 years for manslaughter of Mr Noormets and endangering the health and safety of Mr Wormall.
He will be eligible for parole in 11 years.
