A young drink-driver who crashed into a pole and landed his ute in Lake Hume has been told he was incredibly lucky not to drown or bleed to death, with his vehicle only discovered when power crews went to investigate a blackout.
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Isaac Jansen, 20, spent hours trapped in his submerged white Toyota HiLux utility in the water at Huon.
He had crashed into a barrier on the Murray Valley Highway at 11pm on May 6, 2023, and became airborne before landing in the dam.
Power crews investigating the electrical outage found Jansen at 1.50am the next morning, still trapped in the car.
Police arrived and extracted the then 19-year-old at 3.20am, and he was taken to Albury hospital.
A blood sample was taken and checks later determined that the apprentice boilermaker had an alcohol reading of 0.115 at the time of the crash.
Multiple Bundaberg Rum and cola cans were found at the scene and in the car.
The probationary driver had a zero-alcohol limit.
Jansen spent five months in hospital in Melbourne and still suffers from his injuries, which included a punctured lung, 12 broken ribs and multiple other broken bones.
"It was life changing, wasn't it?" Wodonga magistrate Peter Dunn noted on Tuesday, May 7.
Lawyer Angus Lingham agreed.
"He is thankful nobody was injured," he said.
Mr Dunn noted how lucky the young driver was on multiple counts, including that the power outage led to Jansen being discovered trapped while submerged in water.
"He's lucky isn't he?" Mr Dunn said.
"He's lucky he didn't hurt or kill somebody else.
"Lucky the power went out.
"Lucky he didn't drown or bleed to death."
Images taken by police show major damage to the $20,000 utility, which Jansen's insurance didn't cover due to the drink-drive offence.
He told police he'd been to the football at Tallangatta during the day and had no recollection of the crash.
"It's a lesson to everyone, isn't it?" Mr Dunn told the court, including to high school students witnessing the proceedings.
"It's very fortunate you're still here and your parents don't visit you in the cemetery."
Jansen was banned from driving for 11 months.
He did not receive any further punishment as a result of his injuries, and was ordered to be of good behaviour for 12 months.
