Man drove his car at people in ‘frightening’ camp incident

A man who drove his car towards a group of people while under the influence of alcohol turned up drunk for his court hearing.

The sentencing of Timothy Rory Rynd, 59, was delayed by an hour after his lawyer, Josh Friend, said Rynd was outside, drunk.

“He’s very under the influence of alcohol,” Friend told Judge Jo Rielly.

Rynd had pleaded guilty to charges of drink driving, drink driving and resisting police.

When Rynd eventually made it into the dock, Friend told the court his client had spent 40 years in the Royal New Zealand Navy. He had participated in a number of conflicts, and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"One of the first things he does to appease his pain is drink substantial amounts of alcohol,“Friend said. ”He was in one of those upsets when he fled the police."

On October 18, 2023, a member of the public called the police after Rynd drove his vehicle around the Maitai Valley Motor Camp, crashing into a fence.

He then aimed his car at a group of pedestrians, forcing them to take shelter under a nearby embankment.

He left the camp, and was stopped by police in Nile St.

When police told Rynd he was under arrest for dangerous driving, Rynd disagreed and refused to leave the car. He braced himself inside his vehicle, and police removed him by force.

A breath test returned a reading of 846 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 250mcg.

Rynd now works as a maritime sea captain in Australia, and had flown back for the sentencing, his lawyer said.

Judge Rielly told Rynd it was a “great shame” he was before the court, after a lifetime without convictions.

“I can tell this is distressing for you,” the judge said. “But this is an appalling incident, you could've injured many members of the public by your conduct. I hope you are aware of how frightening this must have been for the people you were driving near to.”

The judge acknowledged Rynd's claim to have suffered from PTSD. However, there was no report available confirming the condition, she said.

“But to carry out the acts in this way, against a backdrop of never being in trouble, something must have been going terribly wrong.“

Judge Rielly fined Rynd $1180, and disqualified him from driving for eight months.