Brent Andrew Dopson sentenced for negligent driving causing harm on William Hovell Drive, Belconnen

The injuries left the woman's mother asking, "how do you describe in a few words how broken your only child has become?"

Brent Andrew Dopson, 29, fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to negligent driving causing grievous bodily harm.

Court documents state that on the morning of October 12, 2020, Dopson was driving a red Kia Cerato along William Hovell Drive, Belconnen, where he swerved between lanes before smashing into a white Suzuki Jimny travelling in the opposite direction.

Another vehicle's dash cam footage played to the court showed the brutal collision, including both vehicles spinning away from each other in a crash that left debris strewn across the bitumen.

The 90km/h road is a major arterial with two lanes northbound and one southbound. A double solid white line separates them.

Dopson, travelling north in the overtaking lane, swerved into the left lane and got "very close" to one of two trucks at the time before crossing into oncoming traffic.

That truck driver told police he saw Dopson's "head was down like he was looking at the ground".

The crash left the victim with numerous injuries, including to her spinal cord, face and jaw, ribs, sternum, pelvis and other lower body parts.

During her two-month stay at Canberra Hospital, including five days in intensive care, she underwent eight surgeries and had more than 70 pieces of metal inserted from "the face to the feet".

In court, the victim's impact statement was read by her mother. It outlined her love of dogs and path towards having two working dogs, who she described as "my world".

She had been training one in the art of mantrailing, an activity they both "love immensely", and the other to compete at the Protection Sports Association's competition in canine obedience and controlled protection.

She writes that she decided to leave her older dog at home that morning and took her then eight-month-old puppy, which survived the crash.

"The worst thing for me though is feeling like my dogs are going to waste and seeing them so bored," she writes.

"People say 'I get it, I love my dogs, too', but they really don't understand the bond a working dog shares with their handler.

"As a working dog handler, there are few things that are worse than the feeling that you've let your dogs down - I can't explain it to them and it breaks my effing heart every day."

The victim writes that she was on her way to an extra shift that morning and remembers thinking "traffic is absolutely backing up a bit".

"The next thing I know, it was three days later and I was flat on my back in a hospital bed unable to even sit up for the following two months," the statement reads.

She writes that she is "so incredibly lucky to be walking well and not paralysed or missing bits" but she "may never be able to go back to the many activities that I love".

The victim's mother, who left her Townsville home to care for her daughter, also read her own statement, describing how she received a call from her daughter's phone only to hear from a trauma team member about the serious crash.

She said the retrieval team doctor told her that her daughter's left leg may need to be amputated as it had already taken 90 minutes to try to extricate her from the crumpled vehicle.

"Thankfully the emergency response team were able to pull the vehicle apart before the time ran out," she said.

She often broke down when asked about her daughter because "the truth was so difficult to convey".

"How do you describe in a few words how broken your only child has become?" she said.

"There were times when I howled with grief and sorrow."

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As for Dopson, who was using a white cane to navigate the court precinct on Wednesday, his numerous injuries included memory loss and cortical blindness.

The Latham man described the blindness condition as "like having a laser party going on in my head" rather than blackness.

Magistrate Peter Morrison rejected the defence that it was a momentary inattention by Dopson because of how quickly he approached the SUV in the overtaking lane and that he was seen to be looking down.

"If your conduct can be described as a misjudgement, it is a very serious misjudgement," he said.

"The reality is that it was your negligence which caused all of the injuries," he said.

"It's apparent that both you and [the victim] suffered serious and life-changing injuries on the day of the collision.

Mr Morrison said it was an aggravating factor that Dopson was on a good behaviour order for a drug-supply offence at the time of the crash.

He said no punishment could undo the damage the offender had caused the victim and her family.

"The fact that you are suffering from your injuries does serve as a warning to others of the risks associated with negligent driving," he said.

The magistrate said he would have had no hesitation imposing a full-time jail term if the offender had not suffered injuries.

Dopson was given a fully suspended four-month jail term, reduced from six months due to his guilty plea, upon him entering a 12-month good behaviour order.

His mother and a friend were in court to support him.

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