Brett Martin Farmilo sentenced for seriously injuring his wife in a car crash in Caloundra

A Coast woman lost all memory of her husband after he crashed their car into a tree in Caloundra, a court heard.

Brett Farmilo, 50, was sentenced for dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm to his wife Amber (pictured).

A Coast man whose “reckless” driving left his wife seriously injured and wiped her memory of him has been sent to jail.

Brett Martin Farmilo, 50, pleaded guilty in Maroochydore District Court on Friday to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing grievous bodily harm.

Crown prosecutor Christopher Cook said Farmilo was driving with his wife Amber on Queen Street in Caloundra when he was seen by the driver behind him to slowly accelerate from the 60km/h speed limit to 85km/h about dusk on January 8, 2019.

Brett Farmilo, 50, was sentenced for dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm to his wife Amber (pictured).

The court heard Farmilo had been distracted by one of his two dogs in the rear seat trying to get to the front of the car.

He was seen to veer twice before leaving the road and hitting a tree.

The court heard his car spun violently to face the opposite direction of traffic, leaving Ms Farmilo with severe head and brain injuries.

She underwent multiple surgeries as a result of the crash but has been unable to regain her memory of that night or her husband, the court heard.

The couple had met in 2017 and married 12 months later in 2018.

Mr Cook said the crash was “an avoidable tragedy”.

The court heard Farmilo, who has epilepsy, had been told by doctors a few months before the crash to stop driving for 12 months because he’d suffered an epileptic fit in August 2018.

Mr Cook said while he wasn’t suggesting Farmilo’s epilepsy was the reason he crashed, his inability to comply with medical advice meant he shouldn’t have been driving that day.

Judge Tony Moynihan said Farmilo’s driving was reckless as he’d failed to keep a proper lookout and his acceleration was dangerous.

“It was not a case of momentary inattention, you recklessly allowed yourself to be distracted on three separate occasions,” Judge Moynihan said.

The court heard Farmilo had since separated from his wife after caring for her for 20 months because she no longer “wanted to be tended to by someone who was effectively a stranger”.

Farmilo was sentenced to two years in jail, to be suspended after serving five months.

He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.