High, drunk and speeding through a red light, Gulet Mohammed Ahmed could have pulled over after causing a crash in which luckily no one was injured.
But instead, he continued on his soon-to-be deadly journey.
That decision led to a 16-year-old girl's life being cut tragically short.
Katherine Osborne was in the back seat of her parents' car, driven by her father Michael and accompanied by her mother.
The high school student was killed after Ahmed's Volkswagen sedan sped through a red light in inner-Melbourne and pushed the Osborne family's car into a pole.
Katherine was her parents' only child and her grandparents' only granddaughter.
"I am furious that all the effort put into raising her from a baby to an adolescent, all that love, nurturing and care, has ended in the most abrupt and cruel way," her mother Alexandra told the County Court in a statement.
"She was an innocent girl who wasn't deserving of that.
"To know that we survived and she didn't is unfair."
Ahmed's victims included Mr and Mrs Osborne, who were injured, and pedestrians Travis Oliver and Jeffrey Broussard who were crossing the street with their dog when they were hit.
Many of them attended the court in Melbourne on Wednesday, as Ahmed learnt his fate after pleading guilty to culpable driving causing death, three charges of conduct endangering persons and drug possession.
"Katherine was an intelligent, caring and capable young woman, on the cusp of her adult life," Judge Anne Hassan said as she sentenced Ahmed to a maximum of 14 years and nine months in prison.
"But her promising future has been extinguished by you and your abysmal behaviour."
Ahmed was high on methylamphetamine and drunk when he got behind the wheel on March 11, 2023.
About 11.40am he was seen speeding and driving dangerously through Melbourne's Flemington, with one person reporting him to police.
Moments before the fatal crash, he drove through a red light at Curzon Street and crashed into another vehicle before reversing and driving off.
He sped through a second red light at the corner of Elgin and Cardigan Streets in Carlton.
Then, at 11.53am, Ahmed ignored a third red light and crashed into the Osborne family's Alfa Romeo at the corner of Elgin and Lygon Streets.
After hitting the pole, the Alfa Romeo collided with Mr Oliver and Mr Broussard.
Ahmed's reckless behaviour continued after the crash when he screamed and assaulted a man on the footpath trying to calm him down after he was pulled out of his car.
He yelled "f*** the police bastards" and punched the man, before he was restrained until police arrived.
During his arrest, Ahmed acted erratically and refused to undergo a preliminary breath test.
The now 40-year-old has an extensive criminal history, which includes a three-month jail stint for dangerous driving and an eight-year term for a violent armed robbery.
Judge Hassan acknowledged Ahmed felt "persistent shame" about the crash, but said his offending was very serious as he was "heavily intoxicated" and chose not to stop after the first collision.
"You could have stopped and perhaps what followed would have been avoided," she said.
"Your driving shows you were completely out of control and were a grave danger to anyone unfortunate enough to encounter you that morning.
"There was an inevitability to the tragic consequences of your behaviour."
Ahmed looked down as she jailed him for a minimum of 10 years and nine months.
With time already served, he may be eligible for release on parole in eight years and nine months.
