Evie Lyn Butterworth was speeding nearly 50km/h over the limit on the Kwinana Freeway before the crash.
Today, Abbey Sheriff’s grieving parents were left with mixed emotions after the 30-year-old driver’s jail sentence was announced.
Their relationship ended after the death of their daughter, their only child, but today they stood together to remember her.
“You hear a lot about drink driving but not much about drug use and what it can do to the families and people that are left behind without their loved ones,” mum Julie Sheriff told 9News.
“[She’s] A beautiful angel, beautiful girl, beautiful heart and always looked after others before herself.”
Today, in court, the pair stared down the drugged driver who killed the 21-year-old last January.
Butterworth cried as she was jailed for nine and a half years.
“We got the higher end of sentencing and that’s what we hoped for,” Julie said.
“Like I said, it’s never enough.”
The 30-year-old was speeding at 147km/h when she struck Abbey’s car from behind on the freeway, causing her Nissan X trail to roll from the road. It was found 100 metres away on a bike path.
Butterworth, a former childcare worker, was high on meth and cocaine but told paramedics she hadn’t consumed any drugs.
In another blow to her victim’s parents, today it was revealed Butterworth had a previous conviction for driving under the influence of meth in 2018 and was fined $300.
Abbey’s parents are now hoping to keep their daughter’s legacy alive by donating her car to a youth road trauma forum.
“[It’s] a statement saying you won’t only impact the victims but their families forever,” Julie said.
