A drug driver who murdered his partner after losing control while exceeding the speed limit by more than 40 kilometers per hour was sentenced to four years in prison; the victim’s father called the sentencing as ‘disgusting’.
Grantley Dean Penny, 31, lost control of his aunt’s Hyundai Accent and crashed into a power pole in Lesmurdie, Perth, on September 1 of last year.
His partner, Darryleen Koolmatrie, was murdered in the accident just three weeks after giving birth to their son, whom they called Grantley.
She was brought to the hospital before she was pronounced dead, whereas Penny had only minor injuries.
Before becoming eligible for parole, Penny must serve a minimum of two years of her four-year prison term.
In addition, he is prohibited from driving for four years.
On September 1, 2012, 31-year-old Grantley Dean Penny was driving his aunt’s Hyundai Accent when he crashed.
Darryleen Koolmatrie, 23, was murdered in the collision barely three weeks after giving birth to the couple’s son.
Penny lost control of her vehicle while traveling 112 km/h in a 70 km/h zone at 11:20 a.m. on the morning of the accident.
It slid for almost 50 meters before colliding with a concrete median strip and launching into the air.
The passenger side of the vehicle then collided with the wooden pole, splitting it in half.
Before the collision, it had been raining, and it was later discovered that the car’s left front and right rear tires lacked the minimum safe tread depth.
Penny said in court that he was unaware of the condition of the tires prior to the collision.
His license had been invalid for four years at the time of the accident, and testing proved that he had been driving under the influence of prescription drugs and cannabis.
“I recall rounding the bend and it just slid out, you know? The tyres were bald and I couldn’t bring it back,’ Penny told police after the crash, according to WA Today.
His lawyer Patti Chong said the crash was ‘a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions’.
She said, “The perpetrator didn’t just murder an innocent bystander or victim; he also murdered the mother of his three-month-old son.”
His license had been expired for four years at the time of the accident, and tests revealed he was under the influence of prescription drugs and cannabis.
Penny lost control of her car at 11.20 a.m., when she was driving 112 kilometers per hour in a 70-kilometer-per-hour zone.
It was irresponsible of him to drive while his license was suspended. It was irresponsible of him to enter a vehicle whose tires had tread depths below the legal minimum.
It was reckless of him to travel at such a high rate of speed down a steep hill in wet conditions. It was a tragedy waiting to occur, and it did occur.
In addition, she informed the court that the stretch of road where Penny had crashed had been the scene of 25 other accidents that year, and that road safety in the region was abysmal.
Penny was ‘genuinely remorseful and consumed by your own grief,’ according to Judge Charlotte Wallace, and she displayed compassion for the victim’s family.
Your reckless driving had catastrophic results. You took a life,’ she remarked.
“I understand that you never intended to kill or even seriously injure your partner by driving in the manner that you did.
However, this is always the case when someone is convicted of a crime of this nature.
In response, Joyleen Koolmatrie characterized her granddaughter as a ‘compassionate young woman,’ while her father, John Blurton, described his life without his daughter as ’empty and lonely.
Outside of court, he described the penalty as “disgusting.”
He only received two years (before parole). I have a lifetime, and so does his son,’ he said.
Blurton reported that he had reunited with his daughter after twenty years and was ecstatic.
He stated, “Three years later, she was suddenly taken away.”