The Northern Territory's Director of Public Prosecutions has filed an appeal against the sentence of a fatal hit-and-run driver in Darwin "on the grounds that the sentence is manifestly inadequate".

Jake Danby, 24, avoided jail time on Monday and was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order, after hitting two Aboriginal pedestrians with his car last June, fleeing the scene, and then boasting about it to friends.

One of the victims, referred to as Mr Whitehurst for cultural reasons, died in hospital from his injuries.

In text messages sent hours after the crash, Danby called the victims "dogs" and "oxygen thieves", prompting outcry from Mr Whitehurst's family .

Danby is related to NT Attorney General Marie-Clare Boothby, who has been accused of a conflict of interest in not

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