The driver of a mini-bus who smashed into a motorcyclist and his pillion passenger at the Twelve Apostles will spend at least 17 months behind bars after abandoning a county court appeal on Thursday.
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Motorcyclist Daniel Imbesi lost his right arm and his pillion passenger Elizabeth Harris lost her right leg as a result of the accident on February 3 last year.
Hyungmin Kang, 29, of Latrobe Street, Docklands, was sentenced in Melbourne Magistrates Court on January 30 to 30 months' jail with a minimum term of 17 months.
He appealed the severity of the sentence, and on Thursday when the judge warned he would increase the sentence to 42 months with a minimum of two years, the appeal was abandoned.
Mr Imbesi and Ms Harris said they hoped the sentence sent a strong message to deter other drivers.
"There's too many innocent people getting hurt on the roads," Mr Imbesi said.
Both victims said they were upset they had to relive their whole experience again by having to read their victim impact statements in two courts, and said they wished it had been sent to the county court from the start where he probably would have received a harsher sentence.
Mr Imbesi said that now that the court case was over, it provided a level of closure, although they now had to live with the consequences of the driver's mistake for the rest of their lives.
Ms Harris said that having to read the victim impact statement a second time was traumatic. "I came home and I was sick as, had nightmares," she said.
"I'm just glad that someone has been held accountable for it."
Ms Harris said that while the driver is going to jail, he would eventually be released and be able to get on with his life - even if it does mean he faces deportation.
"I'm going to get on with my life, but it's a different life,"she said. "I'm confined to a wheelchair now.
"I still cry myself to sleep every night. I get frustrated with the little things. Like today I've just done a load of washing but I can't hang it out because I can't reach my clothes line.
"It is what it is. I'll never accept it, I'll never be OK with it but I just have to learn to live with it."
Ms Harris said the injuries she sustained in the crash means she can no longer hold her grandchildren.
"My arm was almost amputated but they managed to save it," she said.
"I can pick things up with a thumb and finger, the others don't work, and I've got two more operations coming up in the next few weeks."
The pair thanked the Warrnambool police for their their support during the accident and court cases, particularly Acting Sergeant Andrew Macmillan.
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