BREAKING NEWS: Truckie who killed boy, five, and mum after playing with his phone behind the wheel is expected to walk free in just THREE months - despite judge hearing harrowing victim statement
- The lives of the families of two killed in horror truck crash have been ruined
- Jess West, 37, and Deighton West, 5, died in a horrific collision on December 29
- The two died instantly when a truck hit their car outside Ballarat in Victoria
- Son Deighton has been remembered for his 'infectious smile and cheeky grin'
- While his mother Jess is recalled as a loving wife, care-giver and teacher
- Michael Knowler was sentenced to three years with a minimum of 14 months
- The double killer had already served just under a year behind bars on remand
A truck driver who killed a mother and child after ploughing his prime mover through an intersection has been sentenced to a non-parole period of just 14 months.
With 316 days already served awaiting justice, Michael Knowler, 60, will more than likely be back on the streets before summer is over.
The New Zealand national killed Deighton and Jess West when he slammed his truck into their car at an intersection in Kingston, north of Ballarat in country Victoria, just after midnight on December 29 last year.
Deighton's nine-year-old brother Oakley and their father Anthony West survived the horror crash.

Michael Knowler, 60, had been looking at his phone moments before he slammed his truck into the West family

Pictured: Jess West, 37, and Deighton West, 5 died when a truck collided with their car at the intersection of Kingston Road and Church Parade in Ballarat just after midnight on December 29


Pictured: Deighton West, 5, killed in a horror truck crash in regional Victoria has been remembered for his infectious smile and cheeky grin
The crash ought never have happened.
On Wednesday, the County Court of Victoria heard Knowler had been on his phone just moments before the crash.
He had been unfamiliar with the area and gawking at his GPS, which had been positioned flat on the dashboard of his truck, when he motored through the intersection.
Knowler had seen signs warning of the intersection 203 metres before, but instead of applying the brakes, he took the chance to check his map.
As he approached the intersection he saw the give way sign, but by then it was all too late.
The Wests had been on their way to visit Ms West’s parents when Knowler crashed into the passenger side of the car, sending it tumbling over up to five times.
In a harrowing victim impact statement provided to Judge George Georgiou Anthony West recalled his wife's chilling scream a split second before Knowler snuffed her life out.
When he managed to break free of the car, the shocking sight of his dead family was scarred into his mind forever.
'There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about what happened. The last memories of them. I can never change those last memories,' Mr West told the judge.
'My beautiful family of four was tragically cut in half. The sound of my wife screaming moments before impact is the last thing I heard her say. That scream lives with me every day.'
Mr West and his surviving son, who suffered a brain injury in the crash, were so traumatised they had to move out of their family home.
'Whatever the outcome of the hearing, it doesn't change the fact (my) family has been destroyed and life turned upside down,' he said.

Pictured: A heartbreaking tribute has remembered Jess West, 37, who was killed in a horror truck crash on December 29 as a care-giver, wife and teacher

Deighton West was killed instantly when Michael Knowler’s prime mover failed to give way and crashed into the passenger side of the car he was in

Michael Knowler’s prime mover after the fatal crash
Little Oakley, now aged 10, also provided Judge Georgiou own victim impact statement.
'Oakely West stated that he missed his mother's bubbly self and his brother's devilish smile. He said "it's a bit sad with only a dad",' Judge Georgiou said upon sentence.
Knowler had walked away from the crash virtually unscathed.
He was arrested after the incident and eventually pleaded guilty to two charges of dangerous driving causing death and one causing serious injury.
The court heard he had been driving trucks for 40 years and was well aware of the dangers of taking his eyes off the road.
Knowler had until now enjoyed a faultless driving record after moving to Western Australia in 2010.
He had been visiting a friend in Daylesford when the crash happened.
In arriving at his three year sentence, Judge Georgiou took into account several factors, including expert opinion the intersection had in itself been dangerous.
The brakes on Knowler's truck were also sub-par, although experts claimed it would have made little difference to the end result.
Knowler had not been speeding and was clean of any drugs or alcohol.
He had shown remorse for his actions, writing an apology to Mr West from behind bars.
Judge Georgiou also accepted Knowler faced deportation back to New Zealand upon his release from jail.

Deighton met Santa Claus before Christmas - and found his stash of Christmas presents before the big day

Ms West was sitting in the front passenger seat with Deighton directly behind her as the truck approached. Her husband and Oakley were on the other side of the car

Emergency services arrived at the scene as a young boy was airlifted to hospital in critical condition