ADAM Anthony Bortic was more than three times over the legal blood alcohol limit and travelling at more than 130km/h in the seconds before his car slammed into a tree at Salamander Bay, killing two of his workmates and seriously injuring a third.
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Bortic, now 33, from Queensland, was on Wednesday jailed for a maximum of six years, with a non-parole period of two years and nine months for "two stupid decisions" that killed two young men and devastated three families.
Bortic and workmates, Queensland men Jamie Ward, 34, and Reece Ash, and 29-year-old Estonian national Lauri Juerman had been drinking at the Salamander Bay Tavern on the night of April 12, 2018, when Bortic got behind the wheel of his car to drive the two kilometre journey back to their unit at Horizons Golf Resort.
Bortic had missed the turnoff and was approaching a slight right hand bend on Soldiers Point Road near George Road when his car left the road, mounted the footpath and impacted heavily with a large tree.
Mr Ward was trapped in the vehicle with critical injuries and died at the scene, while Mr Juerman succumbed to his injuries on route to hospital.
Mr Ashe sustained fractures and lacerations and Bortic suffered two fractured wrists and a broken leg.
A blood sample revealed Bortic's blood alcohol reading at the time of the crash would have been at least 0.183 - high range and more than three times the legal limit. He also had traces of cannabis in his system, but at a level that would not have impacted his driving.
Crash investigators examined Bortic's car and found that in the moments before he failed to negotiate the slight right hand bend, his car was travelling at more than 130km/h. The brakes were not applied until two seconds before the impact.
Bortic pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death and had been waiting for more than six months to begin his jail term after sentencing was delayed in March due to the then COVID-19 guidelines.
Reading from an affidavit, Judge Ellis summarised how Bortic felt about the crash.
"He notes how his own conduct has changed the lives of three families at least. "No amount of regret of remorse can make it up to them but he does express his deepest sorrow. He says that no punishment of the court could exceed the condemnation that he feels towards himself."
Two young lives lost, two families devastated and it is something that Mr Bortic will always have to live with.
- Judge Roy Ellis said on Wednesday.
