'Forever 21': Drug-driver who killed Mackenzie Blake sentenced to nine years jail

Penrith District Court heard Mackenzie will be forever 21, after being knocked down and killed on a footpath on the Great Western Highway by the drug-affected truck driver on November 1, two years ago.

Mustapha Ghamrawi was under the influence of GHB and meth when he mounted the footpath with his Isuzu tabletop truck at Blaxland, killing the young woman as she was making her way home from her job at McDonalds. She died at the scene.

He changed his plea to guilty a few days before his trial was due to commence, allowing a five per cent reduction to his jail sentence.

Before his sentence the court was told he wished he could "swap his life for hers". He had told first responders after the crash that he had been "looking at fuel prices" at the nearby petrol station and was distracted.

During the sentencing on December 1, Judge Sophia Beckett said the driver was "significantly impaired" by drugs. The court heard he had been disqualified from driving 12 times, had never held a truck licence and had not legally been allowed to drive until 2027.

Crown Prosecutor Michael Clark told the court a witness had seen the driver drifting into another lane several times in the 10 minutes prior to the fatal collision.

The judge said Ghamrawi had migrated with his family from Lebanon at age eight, experienced violence in the home as well as bullying at school. He had been in jail, had "many years of drug and driving matters" and had not taken up an earlier court recommended opportunity for drug treatment.

Five moving victim impact statements were read a day earlier as part of the sentencing hearing.

Mackenzie's grief stricken mother Tracy Blake took to the witness box first, holding onto her only daughter's first teddy bear "for strength".

She spoke of the trauma the family had endured since Mackenzie's death that happened so close to Christmas.

"I no longer feel the joy that was once a special time for our family. There is no Christmas in my house. No tree. No decorations. No music."

The mother of three said she was "frozen with grief" after losing "my best friend ... my world".

"I'll never be mother of the bride. I'm living my darkest days. She's my first thought every morning when I open my eyes and my last each night as I close my eyes.

"There is no forgiveness because there is no remorse if there was remorse, it would not have taken 759 days to get to this point."

Alicia Slade, the partner of Mackenzie's brother Rowan, also spoke of the impact of the ex-Winmalee High student's death.

"She was murdered, killed," Ms Slade said. "He chose to do drugs, to drive, she was just trying to go home." Mackenzie's dog Jasper was "even now ... waiting for her to come home".

Ms Slade also appealed to the judge directly for justice.

"I hope you hear my words and don't just see her as another case number.

"I wish we weren't here today ... begging really [for] some justice, not just a slap on the wrist sentence. Give her justice and give us peace."

Mackenzie's older brother Rowan said she would "always be 21". Mackenzie's boyfriend, Shaun Willis, who she met at high school, said in a submission read to the court that he had lost "my rock, my world".

"I had hoped we would be that cute old couple that had been together since high school."

The public gallery was packed with supporters wearing purple #RememberMackenzie bracelets. Ghamrawi appeared by audio visual link from Long Bay Jail and not in person - an extended legacy of COVID safety measures. Mackenzie's mother called it "gutless".

Outside the court room Tracy Blake told her supporters the sentence was "more than expected" and thanked them for their support. "It means a lot."

The current state government has promised to build pedestrian safety barriers beside the highway at Blaxland to ensure a similar tragedy is averted.

Ghamrawi will be eligible for conditional parole on January 31, 2028.

The Road Trauma Support Group is on 1800 808 384.