Drink drivers’ day in court
He wanted to visit Nelson’s Boulder Bank to ‘‘look at the stars’’ so got behind the wheel while more than three times over the legal limit.
Gurjasveer Singh Sandhu, 34, was found to have 898mcg of alcohol per litre of breath after he crashed his car on Atawhai Drive in November. The legal limit is 250mcg.
He appeared in the Nelson District Court yesterday where the court heard that as a result of the incident, in which he had been driving a Harvey Norman company car, he’d lost his job at the Nelson electronic store.
It had been shortly before midnight on November 11 when Sandhu said another car had came into his lane, forcing him to swerve, hit the left-hand barricade, and lose control of his vehicle.
He then crossed the centre line, cutting across the oncoming lane, and crashed into a fence.
Sandhu told police he’d been on his way to the Boulder Bank so he could look at the stars. He was charged with careless driving and excess breath alcohol.
Judge Stephen Harrop said the loss of his job and income was a ‘‘significant penalty’’, and took that into account when sentencing him.
‘‘This is a serious accident and it could have been much worse because you crossed into the other lane.’’
Sandhu had already paid $850 in reparation to the owner of the fence. He was convicted and fined $1000, ordered to pay court costs of $130, and disqualified from driving for nine months.
It wasn’t the only case of drink driving to come before the courts this week.
On Monday, Blair Atkinson, 29, pleaded guilty to charges of excess breath alcohol and careless driving.
A police summary of facts said the front and rear passengers of the vehicle had a ‘‘tussle’’ as Atkinson was driving along Nayland Rd in Stoke about 11pm on October 20.
He veered off the road and into a concrete strainer post supporting a power pole. When police arrived and conducted a breath test, the defendant was found to have 982mcg of alcohol per litre of breath, nearly four times the legal limit.
Atkinson was convicted and fined $1000, ordered to pay reparation of $4613 to Network Tasman, which owns the damaged concrete post, and disqualified from driving for six months. He was also ordered to pay court costs of $130.
Keita Duff, 19, had been driving in Takaka in late November when he was found to have a reading of 731mcg of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit for under 20s is zero.
Duff penned a letter of remorse and lawyer Luke Acland said the young man ‘‘understands the gravity’’ of the offending.
Duff was convicted and fined $600, ordered to pay court costs of $130, and disqualified from driving for six months.
Kelly Weller, 40, was in court owing to a high breath alcohol reading of 837mcg per litre of breath.
Weller was convicted and fined $850, ordered to pay court costs of $130, and disqualified from driving for six months.