Aaron Christopher George Pratt, 33, pleads guilty in Warwick District Court

Instead of staying in the Darling Downs motel room they had booked for the night, a man instead drove his mate back to New South Wales. What happened next left one of them fighting for life, and the other behind bars.

Aaron Christopher George Pratt will spend the next five months in prison after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing grevious bodily harm while intoxicated in Warwick District Court on March 17.

In what a judge has labelled a “sad and depressing case”, a man has been sent to jail after he crashed his car while drunk and nearly killed his mate in the process.

Aaron Christopher George Pratt pleaded guilty in Warwick District Court on March 17 to one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing grievous bodily harm, while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance.

It was an emotional scene for the man, whose father was also present in court.

The now 33-year-old sat in the confines of a glass box with his head lowered as crown prosecutor James Coghlan detailed the events that left a man in a Brisbane hospital for 10 months.

The court heard on August 28, 2022 Pratt and a friend were driving back to Tenterfield after attending a gig in Stanthorpe, where they’d been drinking.

Pratt’s 2008 Holden commodore hit a metal sign on the opposite side of the road before rolling down an embankment several times on the New England Highway at Glen Aplin.

His passenger, who is believed to have been lying down in the back seat at the time, was thrown from the vehicle and found 13 metres away.

Mr Coghlan told the court the passenger was left in a coma with a traumatic brain injury, fractured ribs and punctured lungs.

Pratt was given a roadside breath test which later revealed a positive reading of 0.127.

The court heard the passenger spent 10 months in a Brisbane hospital before being released and was still suffering long-term effects as a result of the injuries.

Mr Coghlan told the court due to the significant injuries sustained by the passenger, they weren’t able to give police a statement until their release from hospital.

Pratt was not formally charged until 2024.

Defence barrister Levis Menolotto told the court despite the events of August 28, his client remained good friends with the other man.

The court also heard Pratt had booked a motel room for the pair of them and had intended to stay the night, until his friend later requested to be driven back to Tenterfield after the event.

Mr Menolotto told the court his client felt stupid for having booked a motel room and then driving home.

In a written statement to the court, the man had spoken highly of Pratt despite what had occurred.

Judge Craig Chowdhury described the matter as a sad and depressing case that shouldn’t have occurred.

“This is one of these tragedies the court sees quite frequently,” Judge Chowdhury said.

“You were actually booked into a motel and that would’ve been the smart thing to do, have a good night in Stanthorpe and sleep it off at the motel.”

Judge Chowdhury told Pratt he should have refused his friend’s request to be driven back to Tenterfield.

Pratt was sentenced to three years in jail, to serve five months.

He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Originally published as Aaron Christopher George Pratt, 33, pleads guilty in Warwick District Court