A teenage Sudanese refugee who drove a car into a group of revellers during a drunken brawl at a popular Melbourne nightspot, leading to a man having his leg amputated, has been jailed for five years.

After a night of drinking, Dieu Mawut Atem, 19, joined in a fight at Collingwood's Gasometer Hotel during the early hours of September 2 last year.

Watch the video above.

He has been in Australia since 2006 after coming over from an African refugee camp with his siblings and grandfather as part of a humanitarian program.

Big brawl

During the brawl, Atem picked up a chair and threw it into the crowd, hitting a man in the back of his head.

Outside the bar, Atem started fighting with another man before falling to the ground and getting attacked by a number of males.

He then made the decision to get behind the wheel of his friend's Nissan Pulsar, "accelerating towards a number of young people with some force" while on the wrong side of the road.

It was the first time he had driven a car.

The group "took evasive action by jumping out of the way of the car", but David Bilal Dada, 18, became crushed between two parked cars when Atem slammed into a Mitsubishi that collided with a Volkswagen.

Dada's right tibia and fibula were instantly shattered.

The victim's friend recalled seeing bone poking out of Dada's leg and noticing the teenager was bleeding heavily.

That friend wrapped his belt around Dada's leg to stem the bleeding, with the help of police at the scene.

Another man, who was waiting for a taxi, was hit by Atem's speeding car and fell to the ground, unable to move for 20 minutes.

Too drunk

At 6.45pm that evening, Atem was arrested but told police he hadn't been involved and couldn't remember much of the evening after being hit in the head.

The following week, police executed a search warrant at Atem's home and arrested him.

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He told police he had “heaps to drink” and was “drunk as f***”.

Dada was taken to hospital via ambulance and his lower right leg was amputated the same day Atem was taken into custody.

The victim underwent six operations and at one point had a metal rod inserted in his leg.

"You drove backwards and forwards, up-and-down the street in a manner such that you could easily have killed a number of people. You nearly did. It was simply good fortune that you didn’t," County Court Judge Elizabeth Brimer said while sentencing on Tuesday.

Chevron Right Icon 'You had very little, if any, regard for the safety of those in the vicinity.'

"You had very little, if any, regard for the safety of those in the vicinity of the car you were driving."

She described Dada's injuries as "horrendous".

Uncertain future

However Brimer also noted Atem woudl face additional hardship in a custodial sentence because he is not a citizen and may face deportation at the end of it.

"I take into account that you face hardship because of uncertainty as to your future," she said.

Atem was jailed on Tuesday for five years and must serve three years before he is eligible for parole.

He has already served 327 days in pre-sentence detention.

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With AAP.