The mother of a teenager killed when she was struck by an out-of-control car on a busy New South Wales street says the men responsible received bigger sentences than she expected.
Nineteen-year-old Libby Ruge, from Kiama, was killed and two of her friends were seriously injured when a Toyota Camry ploughed into them on a footpath in the Wollongong CBD during a night out in November 2020.
Ms Ruge's 21-year-old boyfriend, Luke Day, was also at the scene but was uninjured.
The man behind the wheel, Jaskaran Singh, was found guilty of dangerous driving occasioning death and grievous bodily harm in May.
His front-seat passenger, Arpan Sharma, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after admitting he had pulled the handbrake several times, causing the car to swerve into Ms Ruge and her friends.
'Didn't really make any difference'
In Wollongong District Court on Tuesday, Singh, now 20, was sentenced six years' prison with a non-parole period of four years.
Sharma, now 22, was jailed for five years with a non-parole period of three years.
Ms Ruge's mother, Julie Ruge, said although she believed the sentence was a fair punishment for their crimes it would not bring her daughter back.
"I think the judge gave them the most she could within the circumstances," she said.
"It was actually a bigger sentence than we expected, but for us, the sentence didn't really make any difference.
"It's not going to change the way we are now, or our lives — nothing is going to bring Libby back."
'An act of stupidity'
Julie Ruge is now advocating for a change in language around fatal crashes.
She said they should not be referred to as "accidents" but instead "vehicular homicide" or "vehicular manslaughter".
"Every time someone says my daughter was killed in an accident it is really hard to hear, because she was walking along the street with her friends … doing the right thing," Ms Ruge said.
"It wasn't an accident — it was an act of stupidity.
"A car is a lethal weapon when it's driven like that."
Libby, an aspiring model and dental assistant, had wanted to study to pursue a career as a dentist.
Her family has set up a charity to help young people have their smiles restored.
Ms Ruge said the pain of her daughter's death had been difficult to fathom.
"It doesn't just stop with the family, I know so many beautiful grieving young people that have lost Libby that are never going to be the same," she said.
"Libby was very big on telling everyone she loved them before she left them – I'm not sure if that was some sort of insight – her friends, her family, her loved ones.
"I think that's really important — to hold your loved ones close and never leave those words unsaid, because you just never know what's going to happen."
