Courtney Mitcham sentenced to prison after causing fatal Dixie crash

A dairy farmer who drunkenly drove home after a night at the pub - killing a mate and injuring another - has learnt how long she’ll spend behind bars.

A drunk dairy farmer will spend years behind bars after she caused a fiery crash that killed a mate and seriously injured another.

Courtney Mitcham appeared at the County Court at Warrnambool on Wednesday where she was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison with a non-parole period of four years over the fatal crash.

The court had earlier heard the crash occurred after the then 19-year-old was enjoying a night out at the pub with friends last year.

Despite being the designated driver the dairy farmer had downed a number of drinks before leaving the pub with two friends at closing time about 12.30am on July 30.

Mitcham got behind the wheel of her white Jeep Grand Cherokee and was driving along Cobden-Terang Rd when she missed a corner and crashed into trees, causing the car to flip and burst into flames at Dixie.

Her front seat passenger, Adrian Phipps, 23, died at the scene while Megan Radley, then 21, was seriously injured.

The court heard Mitcham had been distracted by her phone as she was trying to pick songs to play and was also sending Snapchats to friends - including photos of her hands on the steering wheel - as she sped along the road in the moments before the crash occurred.

Two minutes later she sent another of herself covered in blood and crying as her car burned in the background.

Adrian Phipps, 23, died last year after he was involved in a single car crash accident that set on fire in Terang. Picture: Supplied

The court heard Mitcham had said she sent the Snapchats in an effort to “get help from others” while she was on the phone to emergency services because she didn’t know exactly where she was.

At the same time Phipps was trapped inside the burning car and despite attempts, Radley could not pull him free of the wreckage and he died at the scene.

“I killed him,” the court heard Mitcham told responding paramedics.

Adrian Phipps was known to always put other before himself. Picture: Facebook

When police arrived at the scene Mitcham admitted her licence was twice suspended and that she had been drink driving.

A breath test revealed a blood alcohol reading of .139.

Radley was taken to Warrnambool Base Hospital following the crash with multiple serious injuries including bruises and fractures that required surgery.

She remained in a wheelchair for two months.

The court was told Mitcham had told police she wished “it was her” who had died when she was interviewed the next morning.

In her victim impact statement Radley described coming to after the crash and freeing herself from the wreckage before also helping Mitcham out of the burning car.

She told the court she still experienced “traumatising flashbacks” and saw Adrian’s “lifeless body”.

“Why was it him that had to die?”she said. “I think about him everyday.”

Adrian’s mother Jane Phipps said her world “fell apart” at news of her son’s death and life was now a “living nightmare”.

She described barely being able to sleep or look at photos of her son because it was a reminder of what she had lost and that she never got to say goodbye.

She said it was “debilitating” knowing there was footage of her son’s body burning inside the car and she knew what it looked and “smelt” like as she had been exposed to it through her work.

Mitcham’s lawyer Anna Dixon said the incident had changed the friends’ lives in a “devastating way”.

The court was told Mitcham could not remember the crash and had conceded that she should not have been driving that night.

During a plea hearing earlier this month, where her client pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death and negligently causing serious injury, Ms Dixon said her client was “deeply remorseful” and wished “she could turn back the clock”.

On the issue of sending the Snapchats at the scene, she said it was “how 19-year-olds communicate” and that her client had since written letters of apology to both Phipps and Radley’s families about her “completely inexcusable” actions.

The court heard Phipps was “very warm” and “welcoming” of Mitcham and was a “source of support” in her life.

Judge Amanda Chambers said it was an “undeniably tragic situation” and she believed Mitcham was remorseful.

She said the sentence reflected Mitcham’s youth, vulnerability and would best promote her rehabilitation.