Daniel John Sams jailed for Tamworth hit-and-run on Manilla Road in Oxley Vale

Daniel John Sams was sentenced in Tamworth District Court to 14 months behind bars, and another seven months on parole, for dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.

A 31-year-old Tamworth man remains in a Sydney rehabilitation hospital 13 months after he was hit and left in the gutter on the side of Manilla Road in Oxley Vale about 11.30pm on January 8, last year.

His mother sobbed as she gave a heartfelt victim impact statement, and said her son may "never, ever recover".

"There has been so much trauma ... since this terrible incident, it's hard to know where to begin," she said.

"It's so unfair ... when he is so young and should be in the prime of his life."

Judge Andrew Coleman said he acknowledged the consequences of the offending on the man's family.

"No sentence I impose can undo what happened on the night of the collision ... or the terrible harm caused to [the victim]," he said.

The court heard the man suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, was unable to eat properly, communicate, move around without a wheelchair, or do the "most basic of human activities" without help.

Lawyers previously made sentencing submissions, and were divided on whether Sams was affected by alcohol when he hit the pedestrians.

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Judge Coleman said he had "no doubt the offender was affected by alcohol to some extent" but he could not be sure of a timeline, or find that Sams was "impaired by the consumption of alcohol alone".

The court heard 38-year-old Sams had been in a "highly charged, emotional state" when he got behind the wheel of a white Toyota Echo sedan after having an argument at the Kootingal Hotel.

Judge Coleman said the fact was Sams chose to drive to Oxley Vale, about 19km away, in circumstances that resulted in "disastrous consequences".

As Sams drove along the road, the man was pushing a bike between the gutter and the fog line, and was with a 28-year-old woman.

"The offender's vehicle travelled onto the incorrect side of the fog line," Judge Coleman said.

The collision caused the man to hit the bonnet and windscreen hard, before being dragged and landing in the gutter. The woman suffered minor injuries.

Sams drove away, before walking back to the scene and asking a witness who was rendering first aid for a lift back into town.

Police arrived to find the woman "covered in blood" and "hysterically crying".

Sams later repeatedly denied being the driver to officers at the scene.

He was arrested and taken to Tamworth hospital for testing, then to the police station.

Sams told police the next morning that he thought he "just clipped" the bike.

A specialist medical report was handed up to the court and revealed some difficult circumstances Sams had been through.

Judge Coleman said Sams had shown genuine remorse.

Sams was released on bail in court after his arrest but his bail was revoked in November, and he was taken into custody, when he pleaded guilty to charges against him last year.

He will serve a four-month jail term alongside the longer sentence for causing bodily harm by misconduct in charge of a motor vehicle, which related to the injuries the woman suffered.

Sams was disqualified from driving for 12 months for each charge, after Judge Coleman was told he had voluntarily handed over his licence after the hit-and-run and hadn't driven since.

A further charge of failing to stop and assist after a vehicle impact causing grievous bodily harm was taken into account at sentencing.

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