Ice driver jailed over fatal Vic car crash

A Melbourne electrician high on ice when he crashed into a tree and killed a young mum has been jailed for five-and-a-half years.

David Xavier Laretta, 29, and Christina Karageorge had been to a party where he took cannabis and ice before the pair made the fatal decision to drive home in the early hours of January 16 last year.

Laretta told police Ms Karageorge took the wheel first, but he took over when she began driving erratically, the County Court heard on Tuesday.

Laretta told investigators Ms Karageorge put her arms around him as he drove, but when he went to push her off he lost control at an intersection on Mt Alexander Road, Ascot Vale, and hit a tree.

Ms Karageorge died at the scene.

Laretta, of Rosanna, pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death.

The court heard that while he was not speeding above the 60km/h speed limit, he would have been "severely" adversely affected by ice at the time.

A small amount of the drug and a glass smoking pipe were found in his car.

Judge Gavan Meredith said Ms Karageorge's loved ones spoke of their continuing pain and grief for a woman who was in the prime of her life when it was tragically cut short.

The judge accepted Laretta's remorse was genuine and was "cautiously optimistic" he could turn his life around if he stayed off drugs.

The court heard Laretta turned to cannabis, ecstasy, then ice, after he was the victim of a significant physical assault 12 years earlier which left him depressed and anxious.

He will serve a minimum of three years and nine months.