A New Zealand woman who killed a motorcyclist in a head-on collision while on high on meth and fleeing police in Australia has been sentenced to life in prison.
A New Zealand woman who killed a motorcyclist in a head-on collision while on high on meth and fleeing police in Australia has been sentenced to life in prison.
A New Zealand woman who killed a motorcyclist in a head-on collision while high on meth and fleeing police has been sentenced to life in prison.
Kylee Michelle Tiraroa Fay King, 36, will spend at least 13 years in jail after pleading guilty to murdering Jordan Thorsager, 24, in Perth in 2019, Daily Mail Australia reports.
The New Zealand-born mother had been fleeing police on and off for 40 minutes through several Perth suburbs before driving on the wrong side of the road on Leach Highway and ploughing into the motorcyclist in the early hours of February 14 last year.
Motorcyclist Jordan Thorsager, 24, was killed after King hit him in a head-on crash.
Thorsager was thrown off his bike onto the verge as the motorcycle's front wheel and forks were ripped off in the crash.
His helmet was found 30 metres away on the other side of the highway, and his motorcycle caught fire.
King abandoned her damaged car as it was still moving and fled the scene, the vehicle coming to a stop when it hit a power pole.
During the police pursuit, her speed reached more than 140km/h, she went through stop signs and red lights, and repeatedly crossed to the wrong side of the road, including through oncoming traffic and roundabouts, forcing other drivers to take evasive action.
During an interview with detectives, King became aggressive and persistently suggested police were to blame because they had not stopped chasing her.
She labelled police as dogs and claimed they did not abort the pursuit because they wanted to "f**" her up.
During sentencing on Wednesday, WA Supreme Court Justice Bruno Fianacca said police ended the chase once King drove on to the wrong side of the road.
The crash ripped the front wheel and forks from the motorcycle. Photo / Nine News
"King made a conscious and deliberate decision to drive in a manner that she thought would force police to cease their pursuit," prosecutor Adam Ebell told the court.
"She drove with false registration plates, she drove without a valid licence and she drove having consumed methylamphetamine."
Justice Fianacca said the crash was the culmination of a shocking course of reckless behaviour and described the dash-cam footage of the pursuit as frightening.
The footage taken from the police car chasing her shows oncoming cars swerve to avoid hitting King's Ford Falcon (pictured) as she speeds the wrong way down the highway.
"Your deliberate, dangerous actions took the life of a young man who was using the road lawfully and had every right to believe he could do so safely," he told King.
"The sentence that I impose could never reflect the value of Mr Thorsager's life or the loss suffered by his family."
The court heard King's car caught the attention of police because the stolen plates had been involved in high-speed pursuits in the previous fortnight.
King was initially charged with manslaughter but it was later upgraded to murder.
