John Ceruto naked, drunk, speeding and on drugs when he killed pregnant fiancee Lisa Smith in Woodville Park crash, court told

AN Adelaide man was naked, drunk, drugged and driving at 128km/h - twice the speed limit - when he killed his fiancee and unborn child in a crash.

AN EXPECTANT father was naked, drunk, had drugs in his system and was driving to hospital at twice the speed limit when he crashed his car, killing his fiancee and unborn child, a court has heard.

Lisa Smith, 23, was pregnant with her third child when a car driven by John Ceruto crashed into a Stobie pole at Woodville Park in January this year, during a hospital dash after Ms Smith complained of severe abdominal pain.

The baby, a boy, had been due March 10.

Ms Smith left behind two children, Hannah and Blake, who now live with their grandparents.

Today Ceruto, 31, of Woodville Park, faced the District Court for sentencing submissions.

He had previously pleaded guilty to one aggravated count of causing Ms Smith’s death by dangerous driving, and to driving unlicensed.

In court, a victim-impact statement written by Ms Smith's mother, Kerri-Anne, was read aloud.

“I find it difficult to know the only people who helped Lisa after the crash were the strangers to whom I am so grateful,” Mrs Smith wrote.

“The hardest thing I have had to do in my life is tell my grandchildren that their mum is dead and that they will never see her again.

“Blake doesn’t understand why his mum went to heaven and took his baby brother with her and did not take him too. He asked if his mother loved his brother more than him.

“Hannah and Blake have been sentenced to a life without their mother and like the rest of us will always wonder what their brother’s life would have been like.”

Mrs Smith wrote that, as a mother, losing Lisa had been the most horrific life-changing experience imaginable.

“To this day I still don’t understand why you (Ceruto) acted the way you did,” she wrote.

“I will never forgive you for what you have done.”

Ceruto, meanwhile, rose in the dock to read a written apology to his fiancee’s family.

“I want you to hear it from me how sorry I am, even though it will not lessen your grief,” he told the family, who were present in court.

“I stand before you as a broken man, having lost my fiancee and unborn baby boy Chase.”

Prosecutor Jill Lieschke told the court Ceruto’s provisional licence had expired in March 2012.

Ms Lieschke said Ceruto had been driving at 128km/h in a 50km/h zone and had cannabis and methylamphetamine in his system.

At the time of the crash, Ceruto’s blood-alcohol level was estimated to be between 0.153 and 0.168.

Ceruto told police officers after the crash that he wasn’t driving, he wasn’t sure who was in the car and he wasn’t sure why he was naked.

Ms Lieschke told the court Ceruto had received the benefit of suspended sentences for prior convictions.

Stacey Carter, for Ceruto, told the court her client had endured a life that many fortunate people would be unable to comprehend.

She said Ceruto had been orphaned when he was 15 years old after his father died of a drug overdose and his mother was killed by his former stepfather.

Ms Carter said Ceruto asked Ms Smith to marry him two weeks before the New Year.

She said the couple were making plans for their future together, including naming their unborn son Chase.

Ms Carter said Ms Smith had a difficult pregnancy and was told to go to hospital if she experienced any indications of a problem with the baby.

She said on the morning of the incident, Ms Smith felt severe abdominal pain.

“In the heat of the moment he (Ceruto) grabbed the keys to the car,” she said.

“Without getting dressed they climbed into the vehicle.”

Ms Carter said Ceruto had taken drugs the night before, never intending to drive the next day.

She said Ceruto’s last memories before the crash were of Ms Smith “crying in pain”, grabbing his arm, jolting the steering wheel and him overcorrecting.

“The accident was a dreadful tragedy and an unhealing wound that Mr Ceruto carries every day,” she said.

“This accident was not one of racing or drag racing or someone trying to show off for others.

“This was an expectant father reacting to a panicked situation which turned out to be the worst decision of his life.”

Ms Carter asked Judge Julie McIntyre to suspend Ceruto’s sentence.

Judge McIntyre remanded Ceruto on continuing bail to face court on Friday.