Swifts Creek man Andrew Sandy sentenced after Cobungra fatal hit and run

A traumatised woman told the court about warming “bags of blood against her belly” in efforts to save her cyclist mate’s life on the side of the road.

A memorial laid at the site Greg Burley was hit and killed on the Great Alpine Rd in Gippsland Victoria while riding his bike.

A man has been jailed for hitting and killing a cyclist when he fell asleep at the wheel before fleeing the scene without offering assistance.

Swifts Creek man, Andrew Sandy, 26, was jailed for two years in the County Court in Bairnsdale on Tuesday.

He will serve a minimum term of nine months in jail before he is eligible for parole.

Sandy had been driving on the Great Alpine Rd on February 12 last year when he fell asleep behind the wheel and hit cyclist Greg Burley, 62.

Judge Smallwood said it was a “difficult” sentence to impose as Sandy had “always done the right thing up until that morning” and was a “valued” member of his community.

However, he described the incident as “catastrophic” and said Sandy’s decision to drive when he was tired was poor and the message of not driving while fatigued needed to be “driven home”.

“No sentence I impose can bring a person back,” he said. “Knowing what you have done will deter you for the rest of your life.”

Greg Burley in his cycling gear.

On Monday witnesses told the court about trying to save their dying friend’s life on the side of the road while waiting half an hour for an ambulance.

Mr Burley, from Kangaroo Point in Queensland, was killed after he was hit while riding his bike on the Great Alpine Rd at Cobungra.

He was participating in a training camp with his cycling group who had travelled south from Queensland.

His group had left from Dinner Plain that morning, with Mr Burley about five minutes behind them.

The group had stopped to wait for Mr Burley to catch up with them and were cheering him on as he rode up a hill when they witnessed him being struck by an orange Ford Ranger about 8.35am.

The driver continued down the road after hitting Mr Burley and did not stop to render assistance.

Sandy on Monday pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing death and one charge of failing to stop and render assistance.

The court heard Sandy had woken up around 4am and drove to Mt Hotham to watch the sunrise and inspect some worksites.

While he was driving back he thought about stopping to sleep for 10 minutes but decided to keep going, thinking he would be okay to make it home.

A statement read to the court revealed Sandy told arresting police that he had been “drowsy”.

“I fell f****** asleep,” he said. “I wasn’t doing anything silly.”

Friends putting in Greg Burley's memorial.

Mr Burley’s cycling group had to provide medical assistance, including CPR, while they waited about half an hour for an ambulance to arrive.

The court heard statements from many witnesses who detailed the trauma from both witnessing the incident and dealing with the aftermath.

A friend and fellow cyclist described having to search for a pen and a blade in case she needed to perform an emergency trachy.

“I don’t believe I will ever be able to unsee the scene,” she told the court.

She described seeing Mr Burley’s shoes and bits of his bike strewn across the road and “having to warm bags of blood against [her] belly”.

Mr Burley’s children described how they were “alone now” after losing their mother years before.

“I will miss him until my last breath,” one of his sons said.

His daughter said she was “living [her] worst fear”.

“Grief can never be cured with any kind of medicine.”

Defence lawyer Kelly McKay said Sandy was “deeply ashamed” he fled but that it was a “panicked decision”.

She said he tried to call the police after arriving home but couldn’t get through, so waited for police to arrive on his doorstep.

Ms McKay said the community would suffer with Sandy in jail as his father would no longer be able to run his contracting business and they were the only business to offer bushfire management services.

Judge Smallwood said Sandy’s behaviour “wasn’t momentary inattention, it was a decision”.

“A man is dead and the consequences of that are catastrophic.”

A group leader who had to call and inform Mr Burley’s family said he experienced a “rollercoaster of emotions everyday” and he still struggled with the “guilt [he] could’ve done more”.

Sandy was jailed for a minimum of nine months and had his license cancelled for a period of four years.