A trip from Melbourne to Sydney in convoy with his brother ended with a man rolling the family car at Table Top after he messed-up overtaking a truck.
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Sherwin Moreno's negligence, Albury Local Court has heard, seriously hurt his wife, who suffered fractured bones in her spine that "required urgent medical intervention".
She also suffered other minor injuries, while the couple's teenage daughter, who was in the back seat, received fractures to her spine, a broken left collarbone and scratches to her chest from her seat belt.
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Nevertheless, police said the daughter did not need medical treatment and her injuries "healed on their own".
The couple were able to get out of the wreck, though passersby had to help free their daughter.
Moreno's wife accompanied him to court for his sentencing after he pleaded guilty to negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
Defence lawyer Chirag Patel told magistrate Sally McLaughlin that the wife had since recovered to the point where she was able to resume her normal life, including her sporting interests - she and Moreno were keen badminton players.
Mr Patel said Moreno, 43 - a structural engineer who with his family moved to Australia five years ago from Singapore, though originally they were from the Philippines - was remorseful.
"This is the first time he's ever been involved in an accident," he said of Moreno, who lived in the Melbourne suburb of Epping.
"My submission is this was a real aberration."
Mr Patel said Moreno lost control of his car as he tried to overtake a large truck, hitting the roadside gravel beside the right lane while trying to make extra room.
Police told the court that Moreno was driving a red Honda SUV north on the Hume Freeway on December 27, 2022, when he reached the Olympic Highway intersection at Table Top about 12.40pm.
Moreno safely negotiated the right-hand bend in the right-hand lane, but "as the lane straightened the accused has drifted right and onto the gravel shoulder of the road for no apparent reason".
"The accused then over-corrected when swerving back onto the roadway and lost control," police said.
"The accused's vehicle veered from the roadway and into the centre median, where it (crashed into) a culvert, causing the vehicle to roll."
Police interviewed Moreno after the family was taken to Albury hospital. He laid blame for the accident on tyres newly fitted to his car.
Ms McLaughlin said she had no doubt the crash was traumatic for Moreno and his family.
She said he was of prior good character "but more significantly, you have an unblemished driving record".
Moreno was placed on a 12-month conditional release order, without conviction.
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