Terang man jailed over serious car crash on Grey Street

Jarrod Baudinette, 52, had a blood alcohol content of .181 in the hours after the crash at the corner of Terang's Grey Street and Cameron Street on October 10, 2021.

His passengers suffered life-threatening injuries.

Baudinette pleaded guilty in the County Court in February to reckless conduct endangering persons, negligently causing serious injury, and drink and drug-driving.

This month he was jailed for five years and three months.

He must serve a non-parole period of three years.

The court heard Baudinette was at a Grey Street address drinking alcohol with his then partner and a male friend.

At some point after 7pm he argued with his partner and jumped into his car, which the man and woman also entered in an attempt to diffuse the situation and without expecting Baudinette to drive.

But he did, accelerating onto Grey Street quickly and telling the female victim to shut up as something "bad" was going to happen.

Judge Gregory Lyon said the woman opened the car door but it slammed shut due to the speed he was driving.

She yelled at her partner to slow down which he did enough for her to put her seat belt on.

Judge Lyon said when Baudinette hit a gutter and then a mound of dirt, he did not stop.

He said the car hit a T intersection sign, forcing the car to become airborne and travelling hundreds of metres before coming to a rest on the passenger side, in a paddock.

He said police found no brake or tyre marks at the scene and Baudinette made no attempt to avoid the sign.

The judge said subsequent investigations calculated his speed to be between 139 km/h and 167 km/h.

He said the male victim was thrown from the car and conveyed by air ambulance to Royal Melbourne Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The female victim regained consciousness and found herself hanging in her seat by her seat belt.

Judge Lyon said Baudinette drove angrily and erratically, with two unwitting and unwilling passengers on board, and at breath-taking speeds.

He said the male victim said in his impact statement that he no longer felt safe at home or when socialising, and he would never be able to move on from the incident.

The female said she still suffered flashbacks and had trouble sleeping and trusting people.

Judge Lyon said the offending had life-changing impacts on Baudinette's victims and was "far more than a momentary lapse of attention".

"It was a terrifying course of conduct from the moment you deprived your passengers of the ability to get out of the car once they realised what you were doing," he said.

The court heard Baudinette had expressed remorse since the crash and that injuries he suffered had led him to become unemployed, subsequently losing the house he owned as well as his pet birds and dog.

At the time of sentence, the man had served 27 days in custody on remand.

His licence was cancelled for three years.

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