Hamza Bilal, 27, will likely be deported to his native Pakistan upon release in three years.

The ACT Supreme Court heard the victim thought he would die after he became trapped under the taxi’s front wheel arch and was dragged 50 metres along the road.

The man suffered horrific injuries in the incident, including a severely fractured pelvis, a hole in his abdomen, nerve damage, and the loss of 19 per cent of the skin on his back and left leg and arm.

Earlier, the men had a heated exchange over the prepayment of a fare as they drove from Sub-Urban nightclub in Dickson about 10pm one Friday in March last year.

The victim was dropped off near the intersection of William Webb Drive and Callaghan Street, Evatt.

Bilal then performed a U-turn, crossed to the wrong side of the road, and slowed down to drive near the victim.

But the man stumbled and was struck by the car.

He became trapped under the vehicle and was dragged along the asphalt of William Webb Drive.

Bilal ran over the man when he became dislodged, then sped off to accept another fare and continue his shift.

Bilal pleaded guilty to recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm over the incident.

In a victim impact statement read to court a sentencing hearing last month, the victim spoke of the excruciating pain and how the injuries had robbed him of his job, sport, and the future planned with his partner.

The driver claimed that he didn’t realise the man was trapped in his wheel - something Justice John Burns rejected.

The judge accepted the offender did not intend to run the man down, instead acting spontaneously.

But he said it defied credibility that he drove more than 50 metres with an adult man stuck under his wheel arch without realising.

Justice Burns said the level of recklessness had been “extremely high”, the injuries “extremely severe”, and the crime in the upper range for the type of offence.

The judge also accepted the crime had been out of character, Bilal posed a low risk of reoffending, and he had good prospects of rehabilitation.

Justice Burns sentenced the offender to six years jail, with a non-parole period of three years.

Bilal will be eligible for release in March 2017.