Armadale hit-and-run: Tesla driver Sakshi Agrawal's admits to shocking lie behind crash that left nurse Nicole Lagos in a coma

A Tesla driver who falsely blamed her electric car's autopilot feature when she mowed down a nurse in a hit-and-run faces jail time.

P-plater Sakshi Agrawal, 25, has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious injury and failure to stop in the Victorian County Court, just days before her trial was due to begin over the early morning crash in Melbourne's south-east two years ago.

Nurse Nicole Lagos, then 26, spent a fortnight in an induced coma and suffered life-changing injuries after she was hit at 58km/h and thrown 10m while boarding a tram on Wattletree Road in Armadale in March 2022.

Agrawal initially fled the scene in a panic but returned two hours later, where she was arrested by police.

The court heard that Agrawal initially told police that the Tesla was on autopilot and that its autobraking failed when Ms Lagos 'jumped' in front of her car.

But investigations later revealed the autopilot function wasn't activated at the time, an alert for a potential collision was triggered moments before the crash and that there was no record of braking.

CCTV showed the $68,000 Telsa Model 3 overtaking multiple cars before ending up behind a busy tram which Agrawal then tried to beat when disaster struck.

Defence barrister Nick Papas KC conceded that his client had lied to police.

'The reality is she was trying to rationalise her own conduct, trying to explain the inexplicable and how she could do such a thing,' he told the court.

The extent of Ms Lagos's injuries were laid bare in court on Tuesday, where her harrowing victim impact statement was read out.

She spent two weeks in an induced coma with a traumatic brain injury at The Alfred - the hospital where she worked.

'After I woke from the coma, I was in post-traumatic amnesia,' Ms Lagos' statement read.

'It took me 30 days to be competent enough to remember things such as the day of the week.

'I'll have brain damage for the rest of my life.'

Before the collision, Ms Lagos went to the gym six days and week and was training for a marathon. 

She now has a minimal social life, low self-confidence, can't concentrate for more than an hour at a time and worries if she'll ever meet her life partner and start a family.

'Life without dreams is pretty grim. There's nothing to work towards,' Ms Lagos said. 

'Every time I pass a car or see a tram, it's a reminder that this has happened to me.' 

The dangerous driving charge carries a maximum jail term of up to five years and up to 10 years behind bars for failure to stop. 

Mr Papas argued for a non-custodial sentence, telling the court that Agrawal was remorseful for her actions and had written two letters apologising to Ms Lagos.

Agrawal is also suffering from PTSD, the court heard.

Agrawal, who remains on bail, will be sentenced next month.

She refused to answer questions from the media as she left court.