A Melbourne driver who fled the scene after hitting a girl boarding a tram and later blamed the crash on her Tesla’s autopilot function has been jailed.
Sakshi Agrawal was sentenced to nine months behind bars over the 2022 crash, during which she hit nurse Nicole Lagos, who had stepped onto the highway to board a tram on Wattletree Road in Armadale, in Melbourne’s inside south-east.
Agrawal had spent two years preventing the harmful driving costs, falsely claiming she was utilizing her automobile’s autopilot on the time of the crash, before entering a guilty plea last month.
Judge Peter Rozen stated Agrawal’s actions couldn’t be taken as merely inattention and he was happy she knew the dangers.
“You made a conscious decision … to undertake a dangerous manoeuvre on the road,” he stated.
In making his determination, Judge Rozen referenced the sufferer influence assertion from Ms Lagos, who stated she was now “haunted by an ever-present uncertainty she cannot fulfil her professional, social and romantic aspirations”.
The County Court of Victoria heard Ms Lagos spent weeks in hospital and rehabilitation after the crash and has everlasting mind injury.
Agrawal’s nine-month sentence is the mix of harmful driving inflicting severe damage and failing to cease after a motorized vehicle accident costs.
The most penalties are 5 and 10 years respectively.
Agrawal did not present ‘widespread decency,’ decide says
Agrawal spent two years sustaining her innocence, blaming the crash on Tesla’s autopilot function and advised police Ms Lagos “jumped in front of the car”.
But crash evaluation confirmed Agrawal didn’t decelerate earlier than hitting Ms Lagos and the police investigation revealed simply 30 seconds earlier than the incident, autopilot was not turned on.
Police stated after hitting Ms Lagos, Agrawal sped as much as almost 80 kilometres per hour after hitting Ms Lagos, fleeing the scene.
Agrawal did not return to the scene for two hours, selecting as an alternative to contact her associate, return house, drink a glass of water and alter garments.
“You did not stop to assist as required by law and common decency,” Judge Rozen stated.
“I cannot be satisfied that you left the scene to protect yourself … I accept your counsel’s submission that you panicked.”
In an earlier listening to, Agrawal’s lawyer Nicholas Papas, KC, conceded his shopper had lied to officers about utilizing the autopilot function in an try to “rationalise her own conduct”.
“[She was] trying to explain the inexplicable and how she could do such a thing,” Mr Papas stated.
In Victoria, highway legal guidelines dictate motorists should keep behind a tram when it is slowing all the way down to let passengers board and disembark.
Drivers are solely allowed to overhaul a tram as soon as the doorways are closed, and pedestrians have cleared the highway.
‘Excellent’ prospects of rehabilitation for driver
In delivering his sentence, Judge Rozen stated Agrawal was genuinely remorseful and never liable to reoffending.
“You were 23 at the time of the offending, you have your entire adult life ahead of you,” he stated.
“Your prospects of rehabilitation are excellent.”
Judge Rozen added that harmful driving circumstances of this nature — younger drivers and not using a legal report — had been sadly widespread.
“A message must be sent by the courts, particularly for young drivers,” he stated.
“The tragic reality is this court sees far too many cases just like this one.”