A drink driver who fatally struck a pedestrian in Adelaide's south has been sentenced to at least two-and-a-half years in jail. Joshua Burroughs Norman, 24, pleaded guilty to aggravated dangerous driving over the crash that killed 21-year-old Adam Joseph on Black Road at O'Halloran Hill in December 2018.
District Court Judge Jane Schammer sentenced Norman to three years and two months in jail with a non-parole period of two years and six months. The court heard Norman would have had a blood alcohol reading of 0.211 at the time of the impact.
Mr Joseph, a volunteer, coach and player with the Noarlunga United Soccer Club, was about to travel to the United Kingdom to work with English Premier League club Arsenal before he died. Judge Schammer said Norman's decision to drive that night was 'reckless and selfish'.
The court heard a service station attendant had reported a man believed to be Norman for suspected drink driving on 12 occasions, but the judge could only find one prior instance of drink driving beyond a reasonable doubt. Norman was working as a landscaper at Burnside Council at the time.
Outside court, the victim's father David Joseph said they expected nothing less than a jail sentence. 'Adam made a good decision to walk and call an Uber after a night out drinking. Joshua Norman made a bad decision to drink and drive and he killed my son,' he said.
