Yusuf Adat: Drug-affected man who killed elderly woman in Maylands head-on crash jailed for four years

A man who killed a 71-year-old woman in a horror head-on car crash in Maylands after taking MDMA for the first time could be freed from jail in just two years. Yusuf Hashim Adat smashed his Toyota Hilux ute into Vivienne Yun Mooi Why’s Volkswagen Polo sedan on Guildford Road about 11pm on March 3, 2023. A Royal Flying Doctor Service doctor and nurse who happened to be driving nearby and witnessed the crash were among those who rushed to their aid, but the victim could not be saved and died in hospital days later. Prosecutor Sean Stocks told the Supreme Court of WA on Tuesday that it was obvious to paramedics the 29-year-old was drug-affected, but he claimed he had glanced down to change the radio. Adat called his father and said he “just felt a hit from the side” then told police he “looked down for a second”, reiterating the radio claim. “I never seen her,” Adat told officers. CCTV footage showed he had driven on the wrong side of the street for 70-80 metres before the tragedy occurred. He was speeding, but that was not the major contributor to the collision, Justice Matthew Howard said. The judge accepted submissions that Adat was in an emotional and fragile state that night, being distressed by his mother suddenly suffering a severe illness. He was also experiencing marital problems. So at a social gathering, he took cannabis then MDMA, and “did not appreciate or expect” the impact it would have on him, his defence counsel Farris Faris said. The decision to take it was “an error of judgment” and he did not realise he had “drifted” into the wrong lane, the lawyer said. Mr Stocks told the court that Adat’s mobile phone showed he had been arranging prostitutes — but Mr Faris said that was not relevant. The father-of-one had been “living in two worlds” since moving to Australia from South Africa around age 10, had disgraced his family and felt true remorse, Justice Howard said. While Mr Faris had called for a suspended sentence, Mr Stocks said Adat “knew exactly what he was doing ... taking a substance that is mind-altering”. “He was incapable of being in control of that vehicle.” Justice Howard agreed. “Your dangerous driving was not a spur-of-the-moment happening,” he said. “You contributed solely to the circumstances which made the collision occur.” Justice Howard jailed Adat for four years, and he will be eligible for parole after serving half. Upon release, his driver’s licence will be disqualified for two years. Adat was initially charged with manslaughter, but that was downgraded to dangerous driving occasioning death in circumstances of aggravation. He received no extra jail time for the charge of driving under the influence of drugs.