UPDATE, NOVEMBER 26: Emma Kent took her eyes off the road for about 10 seconds as she changed the music playing in her car.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was a fatal decision that will see the Melbourne 24-year-old spend nine months in prison.
As Kent tried to connect her phone's Bluetooth to the car audio while driving along Black Forest Drive at Macedon on December 10 last year, she fatally struck 57-year-old cyclist Gareth Davies.
County Court Judge Sue Pullen on Monday noted Kent expressed remorse and guilt for her actions but insisted a term of imprisonment was needed, plus a two-year community corrections order.
"The distress to both families, Mr Davies' and your own, is evident," she said.
"But their loss is permanent."
Kent sobbed throughout Monday's proceeding and appeared shocked as the sentence was announced.
Kent told police after the crash she was distracted for about 10 seconds.
"I was pressing play, changing from the radio to music on the (phone's) radio," she said.
"That's what I was doing that distracted me."
Police ruled out drugs, alcohol, fatigue or speed as factors in the crash, with Judge Pullen pointing entirely to driver inattention.
She subsequently dismissed a non-custodial sentence as "manifestly unsuitable".
Bicycle Network boss Craig Richards said Mr Davies' death was a costly lesson in why drivers must keep their eyes on the road at all times.
"There are no winners in terrible situations like this. A young woman is in prison, a partner, father and son has been lost forever and the bike-riding community is feeling the pain of another lost life," he said
Tears also flowed during Kent's last court hearing on November 14, when Mr Davies' daughters recounted their loss.
"In the first 24 hours after I found out, it felt like the world and my life was ending," Rhia Davies said of hearing the news her dad had died.
"I cannot put into words the amount of complete, consuming rage I feel towards the accused."
Her younger sister, Ffion, recounted being haunted by having to tell her grandmother of the death.
"After my dad was killed, my whole world fell apart," she said.
Kent pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing death.
She must complete 100 hours of unpaid community service, undergo a mental health assessment and driver awareness programs.
Her driver's licence was disqualified for two years.
EARLIER, NOVEMBER 15: A young driver was distracted for ten seconds changing music on her car radio when she hit and killed a cyclist in Macedon.
Emma Kent, 24, tearfully pleaded guilty in the County Court on Wednesday to dangerous driving causing death.
The defence called for a community corrections order, but the prosecution argued the offending was serious and deserved jail.
Kent was trying to connect her phone’s Bluetooth to the car audio when she struck 57-year-old Gareth Davies on Black Forest Drive, Macedon, on December 10 last year.
“That's what I was doing that distracted me,” Kent told police after the crash.
She said she was distracted for about 10 seconds.
Mr Davies' heartbroken daughters sobbed and brought people in the courtroom to tears as they recounted their loss.
“In the first 24 hours after I found out, it felt like the world and my life was ending,” Rhea Davies told the court.
“I cannot put into words the amount of complete, consuming rage I feel towards the accused.”
Before the accident, they had been looking forward to visiting Wales for Christmas with their father, who was born there.
My dad is permanently out of my life solely because of the actions of the accused in this crime.
- Rhea Davies
“The last memory of my dad was coming into my room the night before the accident, so excited, telling me there were only two more weeks before we're going to Wales to see his family,” Ms Davies said, through tears.
“My dad is permanently out of my life solely because of the actions of the accused in this crime.”
Her younger sister, Ffion, said the memory of having to tell her grandmother of his death still haunted her.
“After my dad was killed, my whole world fell apart,” she said.
Kent's defence said she had always pleaded guilty and was remorseful.
“It could hardly be said she was unaffected,” he said.
Kent was remanded in custody for sentence on November 26.
AAP
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.