A driver using her phone to access social media in the lead-up to a crash with a bike rider has been imprisoned.
Twenty-three-year-old Wodonga nurse Abby Sturgess was sentenced to one year and four months in jail with a minimum non-parole period of six months.
Sturgess pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death over the collision with Anthony Reekman, 59, of Narong, who was riding on the Springhurst–Rutherglen Road on 27 January 2023, when he was hit from behind. He died at the scene.
She was sending and receiving Snapchat messages on her phone in the period immediately before the crash and Instagram was open on the driver's phone at the moment of the crash, according to Victoria Police.
There was no evidence of braking or steering. She travelled a further 70m before turning back to the crash scene and calling 000.
Mr Reeckman's Pinarello bicycle carried a flashing taillight that was operating at the time of the crash.
Sturgess denied to police and to a psychologist that she was using her phone and claimed the sun had been in her eyes.
The crash was in January 2023 but she did not plead guilty until a year later.
Defence lawyer Jo Swiney said Sturgess had expressed genuine remorse, regret, and deep sorrow for her offending and advocated for a non-custodial sentence given her remorse, good prospects of rehabilitation, and the progress she had made in her career as a nurse.
Prosecutor Ben Kerlin said jail was the only appropriate outcome, given the seriousness of her offending, and questioned her remorse: despite pleading guilty, she had consistently denied or minimised the effect of the mobile phone use in the crash.
Judge Peter Rozen said her mobile phone use while driving was prolonged and persistent, and her moral culpability was considerable.
"The extent of risk created by distracted drivers is universally known and the focus of road safety campaigns in Victoria," Judge Rozen said.
"You were travelling at a considerable speed in a motor vehicle without due attention to the road before you, creating a significant risk of serious harm to the public."
Judge Rozen said other young drivers must be made aware of the very serious consequences they would suffer if their manner of driving caused the death of another road user, even in cases where the driver was unaffected by alcohol or other drugs.
The inherent seriousness meant features such as remorse, good character and youth carried less weight in mitigation than they otherwise would, he said.
“Yours is not a case of momentary inattention or misjudgement, it is not one of those exceptional cases of dangerous driving causing death that does not call for a custodial sentence,” Judge Rozen said.
“The gravity of your offending and your degree of moral culpability means that only a custodial sentence can adequately meet the relevant sentencing purposes.”
He said Sturgess blaming the sun for the crash reflected her youth and a panicked attempt to not accept responsibility for her actions.