Perth driver jailed after drug crash while speeding killed his partner

A drug driver who killed his partner after losing control of the car while traveling over the speed limit at more than 40 km/h has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Grantley Dean Penny, 31, was driving his aunt’s Hyundai Accent on Sept. 1 last year when he lost control and crashed into a utility pole in Lesmurdie, Perth.

His partner Darryleen Koolmatrie, 23, was killed in the crash just three weeks after she gave birth to their son, Grantley after his father.

She was rushed to hospital before being pronounced dead, while Penny suffered only minor injuries.

Penny was sentenced to four years in prison and must serve a minimum of two years before being eligible for parole. He was also banned from driving for four years.

His partner Darryleen Koolmatrie, 23, was killed in the crash just three weeks after she gave birth to their baby boy

Penny was driving 112 km/h in a 70 km/h zone at 11:20 am on the morning of the accident and lost control of the vehicle.

It slid sideways for about 50 meters before crashing into a concrete median strip and flying through the air.

The passenger side then slammed into the wooden post and broke it in half.

It had rained before the crash and it was later found that the left front and right rear tires of the car were below the minimum safe tread depth.

Penny told the court he knew nothing about the condition of the tires until the crash.

His driver’s license had also expired for four years at the time of the crash and tests revealed he had been driving with a combination of prescription drugs and cannabis in his system.

“I remember coming around the corner and it just slipped out, just slipped out, you know? The tires were bald and I couldn’t return it,” Penny told police after the crash WA today.

His lawyer Patti Chong said the crash was “a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.”

“The perpetrator didn’t just kill an innocent bystander or victim, he killed the love of his life, the mother of his three-month-old son,” she said.

His driver’s license had expired for four years at the time of the crash and tests showed he had been driving with a combination of prescription drugs and cannabis in his system

Penny was driving at 112 km/h in a 70 km/h zone at 11:20 am on the morning of the accident and lost control of the vehicle.

“It was reckless of him to drive when his motorcycle license was revoked. It was reckless of him to get into a car that was not roadworthy, with tires below the legal tread limit.

“It was reckless of him to drive down a steep hill at the speed he was doing in wet conditions. It was a tragedy waiting to happen and it happened.’

She also told the court that the stretch of road where Penny crashed had seen 25 other accidents that year and that road safety in the area was incredibly poor.

Judge Charlotte Wallace said Penny was “genuinely repentant and consumed by your own grief” and had shown empathy for the victim’s family.

“Your driving style had devastating consequences. You have taken a human life,’ she said.

“I accept that, of course, it was never your intention to kill or even harm your partner by driving the way you did.

“However, this is inevitably the case if someone is convicted of this type of crime.”

In response, Joyleen Koolmatrie described her granddaughter as “a compassionate young woman,” while her father John Blurton said his life was “empty and lonely” without his daughter.

Outside the court, he called the sentence “disgusting.”

“He only got two years (for parole). I have a life, his son has a life,’ he said.

Blurton said he reunited with his daughter after 20 years and was “very happy.”

“Then suddenly, three years later, she was taken away,” he said.