A nurse who was struck by a Tesla in a hit and run says she has irreversible brain damage because of the accident.
According to The Age, 26-year-old Nicole Lagos told the County Court she suffered a fractured skull, open fractures to her leg, a collapsed lung, brain bleeds and lacerations to her face and organs when she was struck while trying to board a tram in Wattletree Road, Armadale on March 22, 2022.
The 25-year-old driver, Sakshi Agrawal fled the scene leaving Lagos critically injured on the road. She also falsely claimed the car was on autopilot at the time.
The Alfred Health acute care nurse over a month in hospital recovering from her life-altering injuries and said on Tuesday she now struggles to find enjoyment in the things she used to love.
“Before the incident, I was running and going to the gym six times a week. I was working on extending my running time and stamina working towards completing a marathon,” she said.
“This incident has completely put those dreams on hold. Possibly forever. Life without dreams is pretty grim.”
Agrawal, a loading dock manager contracted by Victoria Police, was driving a white Tesla model 3 when she hit Lagos, who was subsequently dragged along the road and then thrown about 10 metres.
The P-plate driver later returned to the crime scene and turned herself in to the police and later told them she was driving her Tesla on autopilot.
Police later found her claim to be untrue with data from the car showing multiple alerts and no brakes used.
Agrawal pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious injury and failing to stop at the scene of a collision. She initially pleaded not guilty.
Lagos said it took her a month to be able to remember what day it is or the name of the hospital.
“Every time I pass a car or see a tram, it’s a reminder that this has happened to me,” she said.
Victim impact statements from members of Lagos’ family show their ongoing suffering from the accident.
“I couldn’t speak; anxiety took over my body. I remember that day so clearly as it has completely traumatised me,” younger sister Christie Lagos said.
“After waiting hours outside The Alfred hospital … I saw my sister in an ICU bed, bruised and bloody, with tubes all over her body.
“This image will never leave my mind. Somebody so close to me on the brink of death. [Knowing she was] just left on the asphalt that day, haunts me.”
Defence barrister Nick Papas, KC, said his client was remorseful and had since acknowledged the Tesla was not on autopilot.
He said she made a bad decision to try to beat a tram, causing Lagos and her family extraordinary trauma.
Agrawal will be sentenced at a later date.
