Assaulted Good Samaritan who came to aid
A GOOD Samaritan who stopped late at night to help a drink driver who had crashed received an unpleasant surprise when he violently snatched her phone and tried to destroy it.
Jordi Colin Hillerby (21), farm worker, of Mosgiel, appeared in the Dunedin District Court on Monday charged with assault, drink driving, wilful damage, resisting police, and careless driving.
The accident happened when Hillerby was driving on Burkes Dr, in St Leonards, about 11.30pm on June 14.
The surface of the road was wet and Hillerby lost control of the vehicle, and crashed into a power pole.
The 56yearold victim chanced on the scene of the accident.
A police summary of facts said Hillerby opened the door of the woman’s vehicle, forced her against the driver’s seat, before grabbing her cellphone, leaving her with scratches and bleeding to her arm and a sore chest.
He then threw the phone across the road. Hillerby’s lawyer said he had ‘‘panicked, thinking she was going to go to police’’.
Hillerby was sentenced before Judge Michael Crosbie, who told him the woman was an ‘‘unsuspecting person who came to your aid’’ and the combination of charges he was facing was very serious.
The victim, who declined to take part in restorative justice, no longer trusted other people to the extent she had before, Judge Crosbie said.
When police went to speak to Hillerby at his home, he refused to follow instructions and pushed, pulled, kicked and verbally abused them, the summary of facts said.
A test revealed Hillerby had a breathalcohol level of 856mcg. The legal limit is 250mcg.
Judge Crosbie said a probation report showed Hillerby was deeply ashamed and troubled by his own drunken behaviour.
‘‘You’re really lucky to have survived that [crash] and obviously that would have had an effect on you at the time,’’ Judge Crosbie said.
Hillerby was sentenced to 120 hours’ community work and three months’ community detention, disqualified from driving for nine months, and ordered to pay $14,232 to cover the cost of the power pole and a further $250 to the victim.