One man's "grave misjudgement" to ignore a road closure led to the death of a five-year-old boy in "catastrophic circumstances".

Western Sydney man Joseph El Jer, 40, appeared at the District Court in Parramatta on Friday, November 14, for sentencing over one count of dangerous driving occasioning death.

El Jer was charged after his decision to drive across a flooded causeway in the central west ended tragically, with a five-year-old boy drowning in the submerged vehicle, still strapped into his booster seat.

The court heard, on September 23, 2022, El Jer planned to travel into Dubbo with his wife and three children. However, the roads between Dubbo and the property he part-owned in Tullamore were closed due to flooding.

To get into Dubbo, he decided to take the longer route through

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