Justin Tate took ice before driving on the wrong side of the road and hitting Peter and Gleeda Hooper's car at Anakie in January 2019.

Mrs Hooper, aged 76 from Meredith, died while her 81-year-old husband was badly injured.

Tate, now 44, had injected ice before setting off to visit his daughter at Ballarat.

He was found at the crash scene with drugs and a syringe, and told police he'd used ice that morning.

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The former butcher was jailed in Victoria's County Court on Thursday for a maximum of 10 years and eight months.

He must serve eight-and-a-half years before being considered for release on parole.

Judge Gerard Mullaly said Tate's decision to drive to see his daughter hours after using drugs was "dreadful, deliberate and selfish".

"To have someone cross over into the wrong lane and drive head-on into another car on a country road is a nightmare scenario for all safe and responsible drivers," he said.

Tate had previously racked up 74 driving offences between 1995 and 2015, a record the judge labelled "appalling".

His lawyer, Stephanie Wallace, had argued it was possible Tate may have injected the drugs after the crash and before emergency services arrived.

Judge Mullaly dismissed this argument as fanciful.

Mrs Hooper was described as the "fabric, diplomat and centre" of her family.

"This has affected every aspect of our family and will continue to do so for the rest of our days," her son told the court in a statement.

Tate has already spent 699 days in custody awaiting sentence.

- AAP

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