The teen faced the Victorian County Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to culpable driving causing death, driving unlicensed, theft and possessing a controlled weapon.
He was drunk, unlicensed and speeding behind the wheel of a stolen SUV when he ran a red light and crashed into an oncoming car, causing his vehicle to spin out of control and smash into a pole in Melbourne's west in May 2025.
The teen driver, then 16, was ejected from the car, while Kevin Lomena-Olenga, also 16, was found unconscious half-hanging out the back seat.
Kevin, who'd been a rear passenger, later died in hospital from a traumatic head injury.
Police later found a machete under the driver's seat of the car.
The driver suffered lower body injuries in the May 18 crash in Tarneit but his defence team submitted a medical report on Wednesday that indicated he had a severe brain injury at the time.
Barrister Naomi Smith said the report "crystallised" for the first time the extent of the teen's brain injury, which was initially believed to have been mild to moderate and acquired from a separate crash in 2023, for which he was not charged.
The public defender said the boy, now 17, would be vulnerable in custody, arguing for a shorter non-parole period so he could continue his rehabilitation.
She also said his limited cognitive impairment, mixed with his intoxication, meant he didn't understand the potential consequences of his actions.
But crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC said the judge needed to consider specific deterrence in her sentencing, arguing he was "not a person who is so physically disabled cognitively".
"He might not have ... that capacity to weigh things up in moments of stress or in difficult situations, complex social situations," she told the court.
"But, in that general sense, he appears to know he's done the wrong thing."
Ms Rogers argued Chief Judge Amanda Chambers must put community protection at the forefront of her decision when deciding the length of the boy's parole.
The teen had been out on probation nine days before the crash and also admitted to a violent assault three months earlier which left a man with lifelong disability.
He king-hit Valentino Arop, who was out with friends Jamy Alex and Mujo Kir, following an argument inside a Flemington housing tower car park in the early hours of February 6, 2025.
So severe were his brain injuries, Mr Arop had to be placed into an induced coma, and now suffers a permanent disability, relying on family and support workers for everyday tasks.
The teen offender, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, will be sentenced on August 18.
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