Crash was a ‘wake-up call’ for offender

A man who drove his car into the path of an oncoming B-train truck after drinking realised he could have died, his lawyer said.

Rheece John Hudson, 26, had to be cut out of his car after the resulting crash on Waihi Rd, Hawera, at 4.20am on June 17, Kelly Marriner told Hawera District Court on Tuesday.

He sustained a broken collarbone and a cracked sternum in the crash and was expected to take six months to fully recover.

‘‘This man should not have been behind the wheel and he’s remorseful. It’s been an absolute wake-up call for him, he realises he could have been killed.’’

At court, Hudson pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving.

The defendant told police he had been drinking before the crash and did not remember it, police prosecutor Sergeant Steve Hickey said.

He asked Judge Chris Sygrove to disqualify Hudson from driving even though he only faced a charge of careless driving, which carries a discretionary disqualification.

‘‘He hasn’t been charged with drink driving but it is clear alcohol has affected him,’’ Hickey said.

Marriner said she could not argue with the request.

Hudson had been driving south along Waihi Rd in his Ford vehicle, but drifted right, into the path of an oncoming B-train truck, Hickey said.

Although the truck driver had attempted to avoid the car, the two vehicles struck each other, front passen- ger corner to front passenger corner, the court heard.

Firefighters had to use the jaws of life to extricate Hudson from the car so he could be taken to hospital by ambulance.

By the time a blood sample was taken from him at the hospital, it was more than four hours after the crash.

The sample was analysed and returned a reading of 78 mg of blood per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal driving limit is 50mg.

The truck suffered significant damage in the crash and the car was extensively damaged, Hickey said.

Inquiries also revealed the warrant of fitness and registration on the defendant’s vehicle had both expired about 11 months earlier.

‘‘You’re lucky you weren’t killed in a car taking on a B-train truck,’’ Judge Sygrove told Hudson.

He disqualified Hudson from driving for six months and fined him $500 and $130 court costs.