A South Australian man who admitted he was driving dangerously when he hit and killed a Riverland couple in a head-on crash on the Sturt Highway will spend more than three years behind bars.
Mark Norman Hueppauff, 74, was sentenced in the District Court on Tuesday morning to four years and six months in jail, with a non-parole period of three years, seven months and one week.
He killed Trish McAuliffe, 78, and her husband Michael McAuliffe, 76, who were in the other car involved in the crash at Wigley Flat — between Waikerie and Kingston-On-Murray — in September 2018.
Ms McAuliffe, a retired TV make-up artist and former Renmark deputy mayor, died at the scene, while Mr McAuliffe, a former TV editor, died a month later in hospital.
Hueppauff was visibly upset as the sentence was handed down by District Court Judge Anthony Allen, who remarked "time in prison will be difficult".
He was taken straight into custody, as he commences his sentence from today.
The court heard that it was a sunny day when Hueppauff attempted to overtake a road train with its hazards lights on, pulling out over an unbroken centre line.
He collided with the vehicle coming in the other direction.
Hueppauff pleaded guilty in November last year, after four years of denying the dangerous driving charges.
The court heard that an "arm procedure" that Hueppauff underwent prior to the crash did not contribute to his inability to drive and no drugs or alcohol were involved.
Outside court, Ms McAuliffe's sister, Julie Marshall, said the family was surprised he would serve jail time after many years of waiting for a verdict.
"We've finally got some justice," she said.
"It's gone on for so long and I thought it would end up being a suspended sentence.
"It should have been a lot earlier. In the end he pleaded guilty. He should have done that in the first place."
Ms Marshall said her family was "never going to forget" her sister and brother-in-law.
"They were special to so many people all around the world," she said.
"Hopefully we can get on with our lives now."
