'My kids' lives mean nothing': Mum sobs as 'callous' driver jailed

Wednesday, 25 March 2026 19:49

After the crash, he focused on his destruction of the uninsured luxury car, proclaiming that flipping the car meant $300,000 was gone.

A suspended driver has been jailed for nine years after driving dangerously at double the speed limit before a horror crash that killed two siblings.

Johnson Kokozian, 23, was taking his friends on a joyride in his brand new SUV when he tried to overtake a car at Heckenberg, in south-west Sydney, in 2023.

The suspended driver had crossed the Mercedes-Benz AMG onto the wrong side of the road at double the 50km/h speed limit when he crashed head-on into a car containing two siblings.

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He failed to stop and help Alina Kauffman, 24, and Ernesto Salazar, 15, who were pronounced dead at the scene.

Instead, Kokozian fled the scene and focused on his destruction of the uninsured luxury car, proclaiming that flipping the car meant $300,000 was gone.

"I'm getting locked up for long," he wrote.

Kokozian's conduct during and after the September 1 crash amounted to "an abandonment of moral responsibility", NSW District Court Judge David Arnott said on Wednesday.

He had been more worried about the money he lost by crashing his brand-new car than the well-being of the occupants of the other car, which he walked past as he left the scene.

Angelina Kauffman was overcome with emotion when she exited the courthouse, wearing a jumper bearing a photo of her children.

"His failure to stop and assist can only be described as serious and callous," Arnott said.

"There is no doubt that self-preservation and self-interest were key factors in his decision to flee the scene."

While Kokozian had shown no remorse in the aftermath of the crash, the judge found he now experienced "overwhelming guilt".

Initially charged with manslaughter, he eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death and two counts of failing to assist after a fatal impact.

He was jailed for nine years, with a minimum of six years and six months.

The victim's mother looked upset as the decision was handed down.

Angelina Kauffman has continuously advocated for justice for her two children in the lengthy legal process.

Kauffman was overcome with emotion when she exited the courthouse, wearing a jumper bearing a photo of her children.

"There is no justice," she said through sobs.

"My kids' lives mean nothing to the court."

She gathered more than 20,000 signatures on a petition requesting that the NSW Parliament consider increasing the maximum penalties for serious road crimes.

A subsequent Law Reform Commission review, which concluded in February, found penalties for serious road crimes were appropriate and higher maximum penalties were unlikely to do more to deter offending.

A new vehicular manslaughter offence should not be introduced because it's unnecessary and could cause confusion, the review determined.

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