LATE last year, Ryan Spiteri spent three weeks in a coma following a car accident on the Glenelg Hwy.
Yesterday, the Ballarat driver who fell asleep at the wheel and smashed into Mr Spiteri's car was handed a $500 fine and had his licence cancelled.
But 45-year-old Ian Matheson did not agree with the conviction and six-month licence loss and has lodged an appeal against the sentence.
Ballarat Magistrates Court granted him permission to drive until the appeal is heard, which is not expected to take place until next year.
Yesterday the court heard that Matheson veered across the Glenelg Hwy near Smythes Creek on November 25 last year and smashed into a Gemini driven by Mr Spiteri, who was then 17-year-old and an L-Plate driver.
Prosecutor Senior Constable Steven Kent said despite Mr Spiteri taking evasive action and pulling to the side of the road, the car in which his mother and sister were passengers in was hit at full speed.
He said Mr Spiteri was cut free from the car by emergency services and airlifted to Melbourne's Alfred Hospital in a critical condition.
He spent three weeks on life support in a coma, suffering from a closed head injury, brain damage, a broken collar bone, a collapsed lung, a fractured pelvis, nerve damage, a broken ankle and a shattered left arm which was fitted with titanium plates.
He was then transferred to the Epworth Hospital where he spent the next four months learning how to walk and talk, hold his head up and even swallow on his own.
Mr Spiteri's mother suffered a breaks in two places and was forced to take eight months of work, while his sister escaped with minor injuries.
Matheson did not have any alcohol in his blood and was not believed to have been speeding.
He appeared in court yesterday pleading guilty to careless driving.
Defence counsel Richard Oakley said his client recalled nothing of the lead-up to the accident and conceded he must have fallen asleep.
He said Matheson had an unblemished record, with no convictions of any type, and was well regarded in the community and in his role as a salesman for Peter Stevens Farm Machinery.
Mr Oakley said the divorced father of two had suffered depression since the accident and had attempted to find out the condition of the victims.
Matheson's boss and a friend testified that he was a careful driver and that his health had been affected since that time.
The court was also told that a loss of licence would be catastrophic to Matheson's work.
Magistrate Bernard Coburn convicted and fined Matheson $500 and suspended his licence for six months.