An eastern Victorian man who fell asleep behind the wheel then hit and killed a cyclist last year on a road voted the most dangerous in the state has been jailed.
Swifts Creek resident Andrew Sandy, 26, pleaded guilty in the Bairnsdale County Court to two charges, including driving in a dangerous manner causing death, as well as failing to render assistance after a motor vehicle accident.
The court heard Greg Burley, from Kangaroo Point in Queensland, had travelled to the Victorian Alps for a cycling training camp and was riding along the Great Alpine Road in Cobungra, about 500 metres behind his cycling group, when he was hit by Sandy from the rear.
The Cams Cycling Collective group had stopped on the side of the road, waiting for Mr Burley to catch up to them, when they witnessed the collision with the orange Ford Ranger at about 830am on February 12 last year.
The cycling group saw Mr Burley being thrown into the air from the impact.
One of the group members was a doctor and immediately provided medical care.
Because of the remote location, it took road and air ambulances 30 to 40 minutes to arrive.
An air ambulance ICU paramedic attempted blood transfusion resuscitation and CPR, but stopped after medical personnel agreed Mr Burley would not survive.
'Unsurvivable' injuries
A medical examination determined the cause of Mr Burley's death was injuries to his head, cervical spine and lower limbs, sustained during the collision with the vehicle.
Sandy, who was 25 years old at the time, was driving home from Mount Hotham when he began to feel tired and considered pulling over, but continued driving.
He fell asleep before hitting Mr Burley and woke upon impact, but continued to drive towards his home making no attempt to stop at the scene.
The court heard Sandy returned to his home and remained there until he was arrested by police, telling them multiple times that he fallen asleep while driving.
"I wasn't doing anything silly, I just fell asleep — I was going to stop but then I went 'no, I'll make it home'," Sandy told police.
Sandy told police he stopped about 5 kilometres after the collision, and wanted to call a Swifts Creek police officer he knew, but did not have his number saved on his phone.
Collective trauma
Mr Burley's daughter, Molly Burley, told the court her father was her best friend and greatest confidant.
"His death has impacted me in every way," Ms Burley said.
"It happened so far away, I couldn't be there for him. It took six days to get his body back and by the time I saw him he wasn't there anymore, he was just a body, he was cold."
Founder of Cams Cycling Collective, Cameron Hughes, said the incident had traumatised everyone involved and had negatively affected his business.
"My relationship with these people has changed, we are now linked by tragic circumstances," he said.
"I lost a lot that day — not just a mate, client, but a large part of who I am and I don't know if I'll ever get that back."
The court heard Sandy was born in Swifts Creek, had lived his entire life there, and had strong ties to the community.
Driving while sleep-deprived
Sandy's lawyer, Kelly McKay, told the court that driving while sleep-deprived was a common occurrence and Sandy was wide awake when he began his trip to Mount Hotham at about 4am to watch the sunrise.
"He was operating on a period of sleep which is something that a lot of us have done, it's understandable in the context of about five hours of sleep," Ms McKay said.
"There was no suggestion he was tired when he got into the car, it came up while he was driving."
Judge John Smallwood told the court the crime was Sandy's decision to continue driving even though he felt tired and considered pulling over.
"He made the decision to keep going, obviously realising what the consequences could be and that's what the law's all about," he said.
"To drive in a situation where there's a significant risk of tiredness ... just can't be allowed to occur.
"No sentence that I impose can bring a person back after they've been killed in such a way."
Sandy was given a two-year jail sentence for dangerous driving causing death and a 12-months sentence for failing to render assistance after an accident, with a non-parole period of nine months.
The sentences will be served concurrently.
The Great Alpine Road was voted the most dangerous in Victoria in a poll run by state's Liberal and National parties last year.
