HE was angry, tired and had likely smoked cannabis on the day that he got behind the wheel and caused a crash that claimed the life of nine-year-old Talesha Kinnane.
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But in the moments before the impact, Declan Mitchell Pearce, now 26, of Adamstown, was given a "warning" that should have put a stop to his "aggressive" driving, Crown prosecutor Jillian Kelton said on Wednesday.
It was an "alarm bell" that should have made him calm down and either slow down or pull over.
Instead, after he crossed to the wrong side of McCaffrey Drive at Rankin Park, causing an oncoming vehicle to take "evasive action" to avoid a head-on crash, Pearce "accelerated" into the next corner.
He lost control on the left-hand bend, careering sideways for a terrifying 30 metres, before mounting the kerb and hitting a power pole.
Pearce later told police he had essentially over-corrected after crossing to the wrong side of the road and lost control.
Talesha, who was seated in the rear left passenger seat, suffered critical injuries and died.
Her mother, Kirsty Wilson, who was then Pearce's partner, was in the front passenger seat and suffered a fractured back and five fractured ribs.
During a sentence hearing in Newcastle District Court on Wednesday, Ms Wilson read an emotional victim impact statement, attempting to put into words her profound grief and articulate how much she had lost "because of the choices that were made that day."
"Talesha was a bright and bubbly, wild spirited nine-year-old girl," Ms Wilson, who wore a shirt emblazoned with the words "Team Talesha", said. "She loved all things from making mud pies to playing dress ups. "She had the biggest and most beautiful smile. She was always the person to brighten up your day if it wasn't going well.
"Because of the choices that were made on this day I have been robbed of the opportunity to raise her, see her finish high school, buy a car. "I'll never get to see her grow into a beautiful young lady and fall in love and start her own family."
Ms Kelton said Pearce's failure to heed the "warning" after the near head-on and slow down aggravated the offence and made it almost deliberate, raising his moral culpability from momentary inattention to an abandonment of responsibility.
On Wednesday he was jailed for a maximum of three years, with a non-parole period of two years.
He will be eligible for parole in September, 2022.
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