Preston-Laws was sentenced in the Newcastle District Court on August 10 to serve two years' jail under conditions that allow him to remain in the community.

In the agreed facts before the court, during an police interview on March 9, 2017 Preston-Laws denied ever having a micro-sleep, falling asleep or anything similar while driving.

However, almost 12 months earlier, Preston-Laws was driving a vehicle that hit a tree. That incident remained unreported until Preston-Laws told a police officer on June 3, 2016 that "he may have had a micro-sleep while driving", the agreed facts said.

In the crash involving Tony Wright, Preston-Laws was about two kilometres north of Dirah Street when the bull bar of his vehicle collided with the rear of Wright's bike.

A well-known triathlete, Wright was riding south on Ocean Drive and to the east of the unbroken white line (the fog line).

A later examination of the road surface and the vehicle driven by Preston-Laws established that the front bull bar of the vehicle had collided with the rear wheel of Wright's bike. The marks on the bull bar were a little to the driver's side of the centre of the bull bar, the agreed facts said.

The point of impact was established by a straight scrape mark about one metre long, apparently left in the surface of the bitumen by the alloy bike wheel.

"The position of the scrape marks and the location of the marks on the offender's bull bar, show that the offender's vehicle had entirely left the southbound lane and was travelling on the shoulder of the road at the time of the collision," the agreed facts said.

Wright was thrown some 30 metres south from the point of impact eventually coming to rest "almost a further 30 metres south". His riding gloves and helmet were dislodged by the impact.

"About 35 metres south of the point of impact, there was tyre skid marks leading from the sealed edge of the shoulder area of the road and continuing in an arc to the south and east," the agreed facts said.

"The skid mark appears to have been left by a tyre of the offender's vehicle."

Wright's bike was found in vegetation about 42 metres south of the impact area.

Preston-Laws' vehicle was about 70 metres south of the point of impact. The vehicle's windscreen was smashed.

"There were two skid marks on the unsealed surface to the east of the shoulder of the southbound lane."

There was no evidence that Preston-Laws was driving in excess of the speed limit. He was not under the influence of alcohol or a drug at the time of the collision, the agreed facts said.

A witness, Grant Hughes, saw Preston-Laws commence to drift to the left before colliding with Wright. Mr Hughes immediately called triple-0 for assistance. That call was received at 3.58pm. An analysis of Preston-Laws mobile phone showed "it appears the telephone was used by Preston-Laws to send text messages at 3.53pm and 3.55pm".

Mr Hughes saw the offender get out of the car and described him (Preston-Laws) as "floundering around ... very distressed".

Mr Hughes ran back to assist Wright and asked Preston-Laws what had happened. “The offender said: I think I fell asleep,” the agreed facts said.

Wright was transported to Port Macquarie Base Hospital and then John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle with, traumatic brain injury, fractures to his skull, the C5 and C6 vertebrae, his ribs, pelvis and right arm and lacerations and abrasions to all of his limbs.

He was eventually discharged from Rankin Park Rehabilitation Centre on December 2017.

Preston-Laws was disqualified from holding a drivers' licence for two years, from August 10, 2018. 

However, the court further ordered that the period of licence suspension was set at 15 months and 18 days as satisfying part of the disqualification period, ending on April 28, 2019.

The intensive correction order in the community ends on August 9, 2020.