Man Pleads Guilty to $180k Damage After Crashing Car into Home and Fleeing

A 40-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a string of charges after crashing his car into a home in north-west Victoria, causing $180,000 in damage, and fleeing the scene on foot.

The incident occurred on Game Street, Merbein, on May 11, when the unlicensed driver, Paul Jenkins, crashed his Ford Falcon XR6 through a power pole and into a home, metres from where a 70-year-old man was sleeping.

The court heard that the crash caused more than $156,000 damage to the home and over $25,000 damage to the power pole.

Jenkins pleaded guilty to over a dozen charges, including reckless conduct endangering life and reckless driving.

The court heard that Jenkins had purchased the car with the licence plate L3GDI7 (LEGGED IT) just five days prior to the crash.

After the crash, Jenkins ran from the scene with a male co-accused, leaving behind a pair of thongs in the footwell.

He was arrested on June 22 after a series of further driving offences.

Jenkins told police he believed the steering arm of the vehicle had broken just before the crash.

A victim impact statement read on behalf of the 70-year-old man described how the impact knocked the house off its stumps and buckled the flooring.

"I heard the revving, the bang of the crash and the movement of my house," the statement read.

"I was lucky that night, but back in the day my grandchildren would sleep in the room that was totalled."

The resident said he had been forced to camp without electricity for about two and a half months due to the damage.

"He ran, not caring who the occupants of the house were," the statement read.

"Paul needs to grow up. My son is his age. [Paul Jenkins] needs to face the consequences of his actions before someone is killed."

Jenkins' lawyer, Johann Ollquist, told the court her client fled because he knew he was unlicensed.

Ms Ollquist said Jenkins was in a panicked state and assumed no-one was in the home as he did not see a car in the driveway.

She said this incident and other offences committed by Jenkins while using methamphetamine were "frightening".

Jenkins also pleaded guilty to charges in relation to a June 18 incident in which he chased a female driver at 180 km/h before crashing his gold Holden VT Commodore into her right rear passenger door at an intersection.

The court heard the empty Commodore was found submerged with its engine and wipers on in the Murray River that evening.

Jenkins also pleaded guilty to doing burnouts and slashing the tyres of two cars on Game Street on June 21.

The prosecution and defence agreed that jail time with a non-parole period would be an appropriate sentence.

Magistrate Greg Thomas said a psychological report prior to sentencing would benefit Jenkins, the court and the community.

The matter will return to court in November.