A woman says she heard her bladder burst and thought she was going to die when her then-partner reversed his car over her one night in January 2017.
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Zachary Bannon pleaded guilty in the County Court to dangerous driving causing serious injury in relation to the incident at Kamarooka.
The court heard Bannon, then 25, and the victim were drinking in Elmore before driving back to Bannon's parents' house.
Bannon held a probationary licence with an alcohol limit of zero, but had consumed 12 to 13 drinks.
He and the victim argued on the drive, and he told her to sleep in her car, which she did for about 30 minutes.
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Upon waking, the victim saw Bannon walk towards and enter his vehicle.
She walked towards him and began waving her arms to get his attention, but he reversed and knocked her to the ground. Bannon moved his vehicle forward and stopped, but again reversed.
The victim could not move out of the way and was run over, which ruptured her bladder, fractured her pelvis and ribs, and caused other injuries.
At the time this happened, I thought I was going to die.
- Victim of dangerous driving
It was then Bannon saw he had run over her and ran inside to get his parents, although he did not want the police or paramedics to attend. His stepfather called emergency services.
Bannon underwent a preliminary breath test before undergoing another test at the police station, which returned a result of 0.066.
He told police the radio was playing as he reversed, and as soon as he realised something serious had happened he called for an ambulance and told his parents.
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In a victim impact statement, the victim said she "heard [her] bladder burst" as she was run over.
"At the time this happened, I thought I was going to die," she said.
She spent two weeks in hospital and underwent five surgeries, including skin grafts.
The victim said she still suffered physically from her injuries and their long-term impact was not known.
She also had to rely on her family more, she said, which put extra strain on them.
The matter will return to court in June.
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