The father of a 25-year-old NSW man who died after a vehicle plunged over a cliff in remote WA says it was a tragic accident and he does not blame his son's good friend who was behind the wheel.

Key points: Baxter Woodger took the wrong route at a fork in a road near Coral Bay

Baxter Woodger took the wrong route at a fork in a road near Coral Bay His good friend Corey Ring died after the vehicle plunged down a limestone cliff

His good friend Corey Ring died after the vehicle plunged down a limestone cliff Woodger has been fined $8,000 and disqualified from driving for three months

Corey Ring died from multiple injuries hours after the four-wheel-drive in which he was passenger fell 20 metres down a limestone cliff near Coral Bay in WA's Gascoyne early on August 11, 2018.

His good friend Baxter Woodger was the driver and the Perth Magistrates Court was told the accident happened when the 25-year-old took the wrong route at a fork in the road after dropping off friends at a campsite.

The group had all been celebrating the 21st birthday of Woodger's girlfriend, Tahlee De Clouett, who was also in the vehicle and suffered spinal injuries.

Woodger's barrister, Simon Freitag SC, said immediately after the accident his client "saved the lives he could" by rousing Ms De Clouett, who could then raise the alarm with other campers, and pulling Mr Ring from the wreckage.

He said Woodger stayed with Mr Ring for hours while attempts were made to resuscitate him, but by the time an ambulance arrived at 8:00am he had died.

Corey Ring died after the four-wheel-drive being driven by his friend plunged off a cliff. ( Supplied: Steve Ring )

Tests conducted later showed Woodger had a small amount of MDMA in his system, but it was accepted by prosecutors that the drug had no impact on his driving.

On Friday, Woodger was fined $8,000 and disqualified from driving for three months, after pleading guilty to a charge of careless driving occasioning death.

He was fined a further $300 for driving with drugs in his system.

Case delays 'a great shame'

Woodger was originally charged with the more serious offence of dangerous driving occasioning death and had been due to stand trial this week before a judge and jury in the District Court.

But after a review of the case two weeks ago, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions decided to accept Woodger's plea to the lesser offence.

Baxter Woodger took the wrong route at a fork in the road. ( Supplied: WA Police )

Mr Freitag described the delay as "a great shame", saying if his client's offer was accepted when it was proposed eight months ago, "everyone would be a lot further along".

It was a view echoed by Mr Ring's father, Steven, who travelled to Perth from his home town of Bulli in NSW to attend the court hearing to support Woodger.

"It's been hard on Baxter for a long time and there was never going to be any winners out of this, and I stand by Baxter as a good friend of my son and I believe if my son was here he would not hold any blame against Baxter," he said.

"It was a tragic accident. He can move on and maybe now I suppose our people can too."

'We've all suffered through this'

Mr Ring said he wished the case had ended much earlier than it did.

"To drag this on this far, it's a bit hard on everyone. We've all suffered through this … this could have been all done six to eight months ago," he said.

"It would have saved everyone a lot of heartache and a lot of wondering and worrying. No one was going to win out of this."

Tahlee De Clouett received spinal injuries when the car being driven by Woodger ran off a cliff. ( Facebook: Baxter Woodger )

In sentencing Woodger, Magistrate Mark Millington said there were no winners from what he also called a "tragic accident" and there was no suggestion Woodger had intended for it to happen.

He said Woodger had clearly made a mistake and he would have to live with what happened for the rest of his life.

As well as imposing the fines, Mr Millington also disqualified Woodger from driving for six months.

Mr Ring said he believed the penalties were fair and he hoped Woodger be able to move on his life.

"I've watched these boys grow up since they were probably 14 years old, they've done a lot of travelling together and to know the bond they had as friends," he said.

"I think to myself Corey would have wanted no blame to be held against Baxter.

"He's got to live with this for the rest of his life and if there's a sentence that's required that's more than enough."