The family of Canberra ice hockey player Lachlan Seary, killed on the Monaro Highway last year, has given a harrowing account of the impact losing their son has had on them.
Peter Loeschnauer, 29, has pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing Mr Seary's death, as well as drink and drug driving.
The court previously heard 19-year-old Lachlan was on his way home after being the designated driver for friends when he was hit from behind on the Monaro Highway near Hume on March 8, 2021.
His car spun before it rolled and hit a tree, leaving him with catastrophic head injuries.
Today, his mother Janice Seary told the court of her heartbreak.
As she recounted to the court the early morning police call to her home in March last year, her husband, Gary, broke down sobbing
"The hardest thing I've had to hear is that my child died," Mrs Seary said.
Mr Seary told the court his life is divided in two — before the accident that claimed his son, and after.
"This person's actions have left an indelible emotional scar that will never heal," Mr Seary said.
He told the court he was a broken man, unable to work or sleep, and struggling to function.
Mr Seary said no sentence for Loeschnauer would be enough.
Loeschnauer was initially charged with manslaughter before eventually pleading guilty to the less charge of culpable driving causing death.
The court previously heard about an encounter between Loeschnauer and a passenger of an Uber, which had stopped at the crash scene shortly afterwards.
Loeschnauer told the male passenger, who had gone to his aid, that he had hit a roo, but then the man noticed the second car and discovered Mr Seary inside.
Court documents revealed Loeschnauer had been drinking most of the day and was also affected by MDMA.
He had also been driving at 150 kilometres per hour in an 80-kilometre zone.
A doctor assessed him as being incapable of controlling a car.
Loeschnauer 'scared out of his mind' to go to jail
Today in court, Loeschnauer turned to Mr Seary's family and offered an apology.
He said he was a broken man and accepted he had to go to jail to pay the price for killing a man, despite his fears.
"[I'm] scared out of my mind, very frightened," Loeschnauer said.
Prosecutors urged a lengthy jail term be imposed.
But Mr Loeschnauer's lawyer, Jack Pappas, urged the court to consider his remorse saying that a long sentence would not serve anyone's interests.
That prompted Acting Justice Verity McWilliam to observe that no sentence would solve the family's grief.
"They've descended into their own private hell and there's nothing I can do," she said.
Loeschnauer was remanded in custody today but his formal sentencing has been reserved until later this month.
