'Insulting sentence': Drunk Victorian teen hit mum's best friend with car and drove off
The family of a Victorian woman killed by a drunk teenager in a hit-run, says the driver's three year sentence in a juvenile prison was an insult to the mother's memory.
Tracey-Lee Kemp, 45, was left for dead on the side of the road in the middle of the night 12 months ago.
The County Court heard 20-year-old Taylah Hocking was distracted by text messages, and hit her mother's best friend before driving on as the woman died in a ditch.
The young woman who mowed her down, said Ms Kemp was like her "second mother".
They were at a pub near Bendigo last August before Ms Kemp walked home along the Midland Highway.
Hocking was on her Ps, but drank up to eight glasses of wine at the party, before she decided to drive home. Despite pleading guilty she insists she doesn't know what happened next.
She initially denied any knowledge of the hit-run, and instead faked a crash to cover it up.
A few minutes down the road from where Ms Kemp was hit, Hocking deliberately smashed into a tree to cover the damage, then concocted a story about crashing as she changed radio stations.
She eventually pleaded guilty to charges including dangerous driving and failing to stop.
Judge Bill Stuart told her: “Your callousness left her for dead.”
Outside court, the young driver’s father Andrew Hocking told reporters the girl’s mother Roslyn was best friends with Ms Kemp.
“I'm dumbfounded how it happened. I feel sorry for everyone involved.
“It's just tragic. They were inseparable. It's just awful,” he said.
“She can't remember. Her psychologist said she's blocked it out.”
The judge sentenced Hocking to a juvenile facility for three years because of her clean record, eventual remorse and good prospects for rehabilitation.
The victim’s mother Christine Schmutter told 7 News the sentence was hardly justice for her daughter’s death.
“I just don't think three years is enough,” she said.
Asked if the sentence was an insult to her daughter’s memory, Ms Schmutter said “Yes.”
