Kylie Allely was the only mother seven-year-old Amber Allen had ever known. Allely and Amber's dad began a relationship when Amber was nine months old and shared custody even after they separated in early 2018.
Every second week, Allely and former partner Gareth Allen would swap places, caring for Amber and the younger children, aged three and five, they shared together.
That's what happened on October 15, 2018. Allely picked up the children and took Amber to school.
She used ice on the weeks she didn't have the children and was suffering from rebound fatigue due to a lack of sleep connected with her use of the drug.
Minutes after picking Amber up at the end of the school day, with all three children in the car, Allely fell asleep at the wheel on a rural road at Yallourn North.
She repeatedly crossed to the wrong side of the road, narrowly missing a head-on collision with multiple cars.
Drivers were forced to swerve to avoid her and honked to alert Allely to the danger.
Then she crossed over for the fifth and final time, with fatal consequences.
Kelly Bounds had enjoyed a day off work and was heading to Moe to drop off her son Ethan and his mate, Brett Lucas, at the skate park.
At 100km/h, Allely ploughed into Ms Bounds' car, completely on the wrong side of the road.
All three of Allely's children were seriously injured. Amber was flown to hospital but died shortly after she arrived.
Ms Bounds, Ethan and Brett were also hurt. The teenage boys had plans for their lives thrown into disarray because of the ongoing effects of their injuries.
"My parents say I got into a car as one child and I came out another," Brett Lucas said in a statement.
Allely was jailed on Monday for three years and four months.
"When a driver kills a loved one there is special sadness for all, including you," Victorian County Court Judge Bill Stuart said.
Allely was remorseful and had good prospects for rehabilitation, he said.
She said there wasn't a day that passes that she doesnt think about Amber.
"To Amber's family, including my side, I am truly sorry," she said.
"I would give anything to have her beautiful light shine again, including my own life."
With time served, Allely will be eligible for parole in 20 months.
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