Lachlan Seary's final moments were typical of the teenage ice hockey star.
The 19-year-old was "living his best life", as his mother puts it, acting as designated driver and ensuring his friends got home safely after a night out in March last year.
Tragically, after the CBR Brave player had dropped his mates off, he was killed on the Monaro Highway by a more experienced motorist who had thrown caution to the wind.
Peter James Loeschnauer, 29, was drunk, on drugs and speeding in father's Honda Civic when he rear-ended Mr Seary's Toyota Corolla at 149km/h in Hume, causing the victim's vehicle to roll and hit a tree.
The landscaper had been drinking for several hours at two licensed venues, and had made what Acting Justice Verity McWilliam described as an "entirely self-interested, reckless and irresponsible" decision to get behind the wheel.
Loeschnauer paid a heavy price for that decision in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday, when Acting Justice McWilliam sentenced him to a little more than five years in jail.
The judge set a non-parole period of two years and 11 months, fined Loeschnauer $800, and disqualified the 29-year-old from driving for three years.
Loeschnauer had previously pleaded guilty to charges of culpable driving causing death, drink-driving and drug-driving, having tested positive for MDMA and returned a blood-alcohol reading nearly four times the legal limit.
Acting Justice McWilliam grew emotional at stages as she pronounced the sentence, referring to a hearing earlier this month as a "humbling experience".
On that day, seven of Mr Seary's relatives made statements the judge said had provided "a brief window into the sheer hell that has been visited upon the family of the victim".
She recalled how Mr Seary's father, Garry, had described himself as "a broken man", and how the victim's mother, Janice, had been reduced to "a crumbling mess".
The Searys were a "dynamic" family, the judge said, upon whom the impact of Lachlan's death could not be overstated.
On the other side of the coin was Loeschnauer, whose expressions of remorse Acting Justice McWilliam accepted as genuine.
The judge noted that the landscaper would have work available to him upon his release from jail, and that the 29-year-old's family had continued to support him throughout the "horrendous downturn in his life, at his own hands".
Before she ultimately revealed Loeschnauer's sentence, Acting Justice McWilliam stressed that the court could not measure, in years of imprisonment, the "catastrophic loss of Mr Seary's life and its devastating consequences for his family and friends".
Garry Seary expressed disappointment with the sentence outside court, telling media that he believed it was "strongly inadequate".
"This person has behaved in a very reckless manner and taken the life of a young man in his prime," he said of Loeschnauer.
Tightly clasping wife Janice's hand, he described how his son had inspired him in "every element" of life and challenged him to be a better father.
"I'm forever grateful that I had the opportunity to be this young person's parent," he said.
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"I couldn't be more proud of the young man that he was."
Mrs Seary, who wore a necklace with the letter L in a tribute to her son, also expressed her pride and described Lachlan as "a beautiful kid".
"He was designated driver that night," she said.
"That's just typical of what he was doing, looking after his friends.
"It's been really, really hard. I've been stuck in thinking about his death. And I really want to think about how he was in life and not dwell on how he died, or the person that killed him. I don't want to dwell on that anymore. And hopefully today's the end of that."
Loeschnauer, who has been behind bars since his bail was revoked on February 1, will become eligible for parole on New Year's Eve in 2024.
