A driver who blamed her Tesla’s autopilot setting when she mowed down a nurse boarding a tram in March 2022 has been sentenced to nine months in prison.
Indian national Sakshi Agrawal, 25, who is in Australia on a transitional visa, could be deported to her home country after serving her sentence for a hit-and-run charge.
The P-plater pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious injury and failing to stop in Victoria County Court, just days before her trial was due to begin over the early morning crash on Wattletree Road , in the Melbourne suburb of Armadale.
Nurse Nicole Lagos, then aged 26, spent a fortnight in an induced coma and suffered life-changing injuries after being hit at 58km/h and thrown 10 meters while riding a on board a tram.
The tram driver and other passengers heard a loud “bang”, while a driver behind Agrawal’s $68,000 Tesla Model 3 saw Ms Lagos “thrown into the air as high as the stop sign.”
Sakshi Agrawal (pictured), who blamed her Tesla’s autopilot setting when she mowed down a nurse boarding a tram in March 2022, has been sentenced to nine months in prison.
Agrawal initially fled the scene in panic, but returned two hours later, where she was arrested by police.
The court heard she initially told police the Tesla was on autopilot and its autobrake failed when Ms Lagos “jumped” in front of her car.
But investigations later revealed that the autopilot function was not activated at the time, that a warning for a potential collision had been triggered moments before the accident and that there was no no sign of braking.
CCTV showed the luxury vehicle overtaking several cars before ending up behind a busy tram which Agrawal then attempted to beat when disaster struck.
Defense barrister Nick Papas KC admitted his client had lied to police.
“The reality is that she was trying to rationalize her own conduct, trying to explain the inexplicable and how she could have done such a thing,” he told the court.
The extent of Ms Lagos’ injuries was revealed in court, where her heartbreaking victim impact statement was read out.
She spent two weeks in an induced coma due to head trauma at Alfred Hospital, where she worked.
“After waking up from the coma, I was in post-traumatic amnesia,” read Ms. Lagos’ statement.
“It took me 30 days to become proficient enough to remember things like the day of the week.
“I will have brain damage for the rest of my life.”
Before the collision, Ms Lagos was going to the gym six days a week and training for a marathon.
She now has a minimal social life, low self-confidence, cannot concentrate for more than an hour at a time, and worries about whether she will ever meet a life partner and start a family.
“Life without dreams is pretty bleak. There’s nothing to work on,” she said.
“Every time I pass a car or see a tram, it reminds me that this happened to me.”
Judge Peter Rozen told Agrawal she did not stop to help her injured victim, as required by law and “common decency”, the Herald Sun reported.
“Instead, you accelerated to a speed of approximately 78km/h and continued driving for approximately three kilometers before parking your vehicle in Epping Street, Malvern,” where she called her housemate and his boyfriend, telling them she was “scared and didn’t know what to do.” TO DO’.
The judge said Agrawal’s dangerous driving was not caused by inattention, but by an “error of judgment” when she chose to overtake the tram before it stopped.
He rejected the defense attorney’s request for a community corrections order, instead agreeing with prosecutors that a prison sentence was required.
Sakshi Agrawal (pictured being interviewed by police) initially fled the scene of the collision, but returned two hours later.
The P-plater pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious injury and failing to stop in Victoria County Court, just days before her trial was due to begin over the early morning crash on Wattletree Road (pictured) in the Melbourne suburb of Armadale.
“A message must be sent by the justice system to other drivers, especially young people like you,” he said.
Agrawal, who was fired from her security job due to her crimes, hoped to become a permanent resident of Australia.
But she now risks being deported once her prison sentence is served.
His driving license was revoked and he was banned from obtaining another one for four years.
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