Mother's heartbreaking last words before tragic car crash
A fatal car crash, caused by a young father high on ice, has taken the life of his grieving girlfriend who was still mourning the loss of their newborn baby.
Bailey Hogan-Jones has pleaded guilty to culpable driving occasioning death over the high-speed smash in Bendigo, Victoria Australia in 2018.
The car Hogan-Jones and his 21-year-old girlfriend Nukyah Gunthorpe were driving in slammed into a stationary van at speed.
The couple had lost their nine-day old baby Eli six months prior.
Hogan-Jones was inconsolable when police arrived at the scene only seconds after the fatal crash.
“Is my girlfriend dead? I told her I didn't want to drive,” he said at the time.
He had told a paramedic and police that he had smoked ice two hours before getting in the driver's seat.
Neither he nor Ms Gunthorpe, were wearing seatbelts.
Blood tests would later confirm that he had methamphetamine and amphetamines in his system.
She was thrown into the windscreen and suffered critical injuries.
Nukyah died in hospital an hour later.
Prosecutor Robyn Harper told Victoria's County Court the car was travelling as fast as 144km/h along the residential road in Flora Hill.
Police had been pursuing the car, after seeing the driver speed through a red light and told the court that they had been travelling twice the 60km speed limit to catch Hogan-Jones.
Two men who were driving home from a harness racing meet near Warrnambool, were stopped in a turning lane.
They were about to cross into Hogan-Jones' path.
The driver knew he couldn't get around the corner in time so he took action which resulted in Hogan-Jones braking suddenly and losing control of his vehicle.
Louise Baggott said her daughter's final words when she went out that day were “I love you, mamma”.
“I had to see my daughter's beautiful, broken face and body,” she told the court.
”We were so full of hope at one point in our lives. It's all gone.”
Ms Baggott's youngest daughter Lola said she didn't like how quiet the house has become without her older sister.
“I miss her,” she said.
“I will love you always and forever. A force to be reckoned with, a shoulder to lean on, and the bravest person I'll ever know. A piece of my heart has gone with you Nukyah. Until we meet again, have a dart rolled and ready for me.”
Hogan-Jones' lawyer Eleanor Millar said he had made poor decisions in the past but was actively working to make his life better after he heard he was becoming a father.
“With Eli's passing all of that was then undone ... he will have to live with another poor decision for the rest of his life,” she said.
Hogan Jones will return to the Victoria County Court on Wednesday to be sentenced.