Speeding drink-driver flips car and breaks neck
After several near collisions, a drink-driver’s high-speed journey ended when he flipped his vehicle on a roundabout, breaking his neck.
Joshua David Herbert, 30, appeared in the Nelson District Court on Monday, pleading guilty to charges of dangerous driving and drink-driving with an alcohol interlock device.
The summary of facts, read in court, said Herbert left his home in Tapawera just before 10pm on June 12 and headed north along State Highway 6.
Travelling at speed, he lost control of his vehicle in Wakefield as he rounded a bend in the road, narrowly missing a truck travelling in the southbound lane.
Herbert continued at speed to Richmond, where he again lost control as he attempted to navigate the roundabout at Gladstone Rd, forcing another vehicle to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
Herbert gained control of his vehicle, speeding off along Gladstone Rd and overtaking a vehicle on the wrong side of the road.
His journey ended when he crashed into the Richmond Deviation roundabout, ‘‘launching his vehicle into the air, flipping the vehicle onto its roof,’’ the summary said.
When blood tests were carried out, Herbert was found to have 127 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, two-and-a-half times the 50mg limit.
Herbert’s lawyer Lucy Patchett said her client was still recovering from the incident, which had left him with a broken neck.
Herbert had had an interlock device in his previous vehicle but had changed cars two weeks ago and had not yet fitted the device into the new vehicle, Patchett said.
Judge Tony Zohrab said the incident was a ‘‘serious matter’’, and noted Herbert’s previous drink-driving history.
‘‘It’s hard to have sympathy for you when you were grossly affected by alcohol ... an accident such as this is only to be expected. It’s fortunate that innocent members of the public were not impacted.’’
Zohrab convicted Herbert of the charges and remanded him until sentencing. Herbert was ordered not to drive without an interlock device, Zohrab said.
A woman who drove into her expartner in a car with a flat tyre told police she was so drunk she couldn’t see past the steering wheel.
Sonya Carla Niven, 35, pleaded guilty in Nelson District Court on Monday to charges of assault, dangerous driving, wilful damage and speaking threateningly.
According to the summary of facts, there were two victims of Niven’s offending. One was Niven’s former partner and the other was someone known to her.
On August 23, Niven had been drinking bourbon when she contacted her former partner, threatening to harm herself.
The man went to Niven’s house, where he remained for some time. However, when he tried to leave the property, Niven followed him, striking him in the back of the head three times.
When the man left her home,
Niven took her neighbour’s car and followed him. At his house, she entered the front yard and began yelling. When the second victim appeared, Niven ‘‘threatened to smash’’ them.
When Niven’s ex-partner came out and walked onto the footpath, Niven revved her engine before driving into him, then driving into the back of the second victim’s vehicle.
The altercation continued, with Niven verbally abusing her second victim and then punching her expartner in the nose and head when he tried to intervene.
Niven then left the property in the car, which had a flat tyre.
In explanation, Niven told police she had consumed a lot of alcohol and made a poor decision. She said she had been so intoxicated she couldn’t see past the steering wheel of the vehicle.
Judge Tony Zohrab convicted Niven of all charges, and ordered several reports, including an alcohol and drug report, before her sentencing on November 9.