A man whose car was swept away while trying to drive through floodwater in the New South Wales central west, killing a five-year-old boy, has avoided jail.

The boy died when Joseph El Jer attempted to cross a flooded causeway at Graddle Creek between Naroomine and Tullamore on September 23, 2022.

The 40-year-old, along with three other passengers, managed to escape the car, but the five-year-old boy was trapped inside, with police divers later finding his body in the submerged vehicle.

In the NSW District Court at Parramatta on Friday El Jer was sentenced to an intensive corrections order for just over a year, and will need to complete 500 hours of community service.

In handing down his sentence in, Judge Philip Ingram told the court El Jer would also need to complete counselling "for

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