Triplet daughters confront the drunk who mowed down and killed their father
REPEAT drunk driver who mowed down and killed road worker confronted in court by teenage triplets who lost their father
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A THREE time drunk driver who mowed down and killed Brisbane road worker was forced to confront the horror of his behaviour when teenage triplets got the chance to confront him in court over the loss of their "daddy.''
Emily, Lauren and Teryn Goodrich, 18, choked back tears as they stood in Brisbane's Supreme Court -- in front of a visibly uncomfortable and shaken Gavin Armstrong -- and spoke about the day two years ago that "changed our lives forever.''
Gavin Arthur Thomas Armstrong, 30, this morning pleaded guilty the manslaughter of traffic controller Murray William Goodrich.
Justice Debra Mullins jailed Armstrong for nine years and disqualified from ever holding a driver's licence again.
She recommended he be eligible for parole from February 1, 2015, after having served three-and-a-half years in jail.
The court was told Armstrong was driving while suspended and with a blood alcohol level almost four times the legal limit and at speeds of 160km/h when he struck and killed Mr Goodrich while on his way to buy some milk.
Mr Goodrich, 48, had been on a break from work as a traffic controller during upgrades to a 3km stretch of the Bruce Hwy, at Burpengary, north of Brisbane, about 9.45am on August 3, 2009.
Without warning Armstrong, then 28, drove his "flying'' dark BMW sedan into a closed north-bound section of road works and struck Mr Goodrich so hard he was thrown into the air, landed more 30m away and died almost immediately.
Prosecutor Jacob Robson said Armstrong had two previous convictions for drink driving, in NSW in December 2002 and June 2005, and that both had also ended in crashes.
He said Armstrong also had previous convictions for speeding that resulted in the suspension of his driver's licence in January 2009.
The court was told two hours after he stuck and killed Mr Goodrich provided a sample of blood -- which recorded an alcohol reading of 0.185.
Justice Debra Mullins, moments before the triplets stared into the eyes of Armstrong and read from prepared statements, told the convicted killer: "Mr Armstrong, you must listen to this.''
"This is the consequences of what you've done.''
Emily, the first to speak, said: "In a matter of minutes my life was turned upside down (by what you did).''
"He may have been rough around the edges ... (but) he was my daddy.''
Lauren went next, saying: "A girl needs her father ... to protect her and love her. I no longer have this.''
"The death of my father has left me feeling vulnerable and afraid. It has truly altered my life in every way.
"There will forever be a hole in our family.''
Teryn said: "My dad was my world, my rock, my everything. My life just isn't the same.''
The trio also spoke of how much dreamed of future life highlights, such as marriage, children, career achievements, significant birthday's and family events, would be forever steeped in sorrow as a result of "what you did'' Armstrong.
Armstrong appeared visibly distressed, uncomfortable and unable to maintain eye contact as the each girl addressed him.
Justice Mullins, in sentencing Armstrong, said: "You've got to live with (what you've done) for the rest of your life.''
Mr Robson said various witnesses to the crash claimed Armstrong was speeding, from between 120-160km/h, was beeping his horn repeatedly, skylarking and even gave a "death stare'' to a road worker who forced him to stop, tried to direct him toward an open section of road before "flying'' off at speed.
Lawyers for Armstrong revealed he had suffered a permanent "acquired brain injury'' after a motorcycle accident at the age of 17.