Tears of grief led to crash – accused

A man who caused a head-on car crash has failed to get off a charge of driving while under the influence of methamphetamine, despite the ruling judge saying he believed the man’s explanation.

Hamish Bradley Hunter told the Palmerston North District Court yesterday there was no way he had smoked the drug soon before driving.

‘‘If I was on meth, I would have been bouncing off the walls, fried off my banana,’’ he said.

The charge came about after a crash on State Highway 1 near Rongotea on August 17, 2018.

He was driving a Mitsubishi Galant north towards Bulls at 3pm when he veered across the centre line, hitting a Mitsubishi Outlander with two 70-year-olds inside travelling the other way.

The Outlander ended up in a ditch, with both occupants receiving very minor injuries.

Hunter, however, did not fare so well. He had to be cut from his car by Fire and Emergency officers, and was taken to hospital with two broken legs and a broken arm. He is still receiving medical treatment for his injuries, and used crutches to enter the courtroom yesterday.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving soon after the crash, but denied having the drug in his system.

That was despite a blood sample taken while he was in hospital coming back positive for methamphetamine at a level indicating recreational use.

Senior Constable Tony Carne said he visited Hunter in hospital, who said the Outlander may have drifted into his lane – something dashcam footage from another vehicle showed was not true.

Hunter was mostly uncooperative when confronted with the evidence about the meth, Carne said. ‘‘He told me to screw it up and put it in the bin.’’

Hunter, who said he was not a liar no fewer than six times while giving evidence in his defence, said he veered across the road after wiping tears from his eyes.

He was driving north after visiting his mother’s grave.

She had recently passed from cancer and he cared for her throughout her illness, he said.

‘‘I should have just pulled over and had a good cry, but I was trying to get my act together.’’

He was a meth addict who got clean, but put himself back into rehab eight weeks before the crash after relapsing, he said.

He denied smoking any drugs the day of the crash. ‘‘I’m a healthy person, not a fishlips.’’

He understood it took eight weeks for methamphetamine to get out of his system, and it may have taken longer for him.

Judge Denys Barry said he accepted Hunter’s evidence, but convicted him of the charge.

The only issue was if Hunter knew how the meth got in his system, and Hunter provided that explanation, the judge said.

Hunter was convicted and sentenced to six month’s supervision. He was also ordered to pay $2000 reparation and disqualified from driving for 12 months.