50km, many near misses, forced stop
Tourist was going to kill someone, says motorist who confiscated her keys Teen posts friend’s medical information with a LOL
Acouple who watched a female tourist in a rental car repeatedly weave across the centre line and drive erratically for 50km say they confiscated her keys before she killed someone.
Rich Adams said that as he rang *555 to report the woman’s dangerous driving on State Highway 73, he could hear blood-curdling screams from his partner in the passenger seat each time the rental car crossed the centre line and nearly crashed into oncoming cars.
At least two concerned motorists ended up sliding in behind the vehicle on SH73 on Sunday as it wildly varied its speed and crossed the centre line so many times those behind it felt unable to safely pass.
Richard Adams was about to pass the car when it unexpectedly veered onto the wrong side of the road.
The car travelled at speeds of up to 130km/h then dropped back to 60km/h, continuously crossing the centre line.
Adams, who was in his ute, was so concerned he diverted his journey to follow the car until he could get it to stop. He was frantically trying to catch their attention by flashing his lights and tooting his horn.
“I thought maybe they are drunk or something isn’t quite right, but when they continued crossing over the white lines so half of their vehicle A woman who posted someone’s confidential medical information on Instagram accompanied the photo with a single comment: “LOL”. The acronym — meaning “laugh out loud” — was posted by 19-year-old Courtney Glenn Blair on June 11 in response to the hospital discharge papers which included an acquaintance’s mental and sexual-health status.
Counsel Noel Rayner said his client and her friend had “come across” the private document and shared it on the popular social media site for only a brief time before removing it.
He said Blair decided to post the document because at the time she was almost over the white lines and then they almost took out a motorcyclist, a campervan and SUV because they were over the centre line,” Adams said.
“My partner was screaming because we were going to be at the scene of a crash because these people can’t stay on their side of the road.”
They also had their 3-year-old in the back seat.
The rental car finally pulled over near Lake Lyndon on Porters Pass after about 50km. Inside it was an Indian couple in their late 20s or early 30s who were in New Zealand on their honeymoon and had only arrived 24 hours earlier.
Adams pulled over right behind them and yelled at them and took their keys.
“I made her cry, she burst into tears, but that didn’t worry me too much because I needed to get through about the severity of what was going on,” Adams said.
“They were going to kill someone. It was only a matter of time and that’s the scary thing.
“I stood another 45 minutes on the side of the road holding the car keys waiting for the police to turn up.” He refused to give their keys back. Police arrived two hours after they first called *555. considered it might benefit her friends to know its contents.
Mr Rayner tendered documents to the court which he said suggested the victim had previously spoken openly about his mental health issues through the online medium.
However, at a previous court hearing one judge noted the incident had provoked suicidal thoughts in the man and prompted a six-day stay in Wakari Hospital.
“It’s one thing for a person to post bravely about their mental-health issues, it’s another to put a photo of their discharge papers on Instagram for the world to see,” that judge noted.
Judge John Strettell, in the Dunedin District Court yesterday, said Blair’s acts reflected her age and her lack of social awareness.
“It was a significantly mean and harmful thing to him and I sense it was not only a deliberate act but one in which you didn’t really think through the consequences,” he said.
It was fortunate, the judge said, that there were no irreversible effects of the defendant’s offending.
As a result of the Instagram post, Blair pleaded guilty to a charge under the Harmful Digital Communications Act.
She also admitted three counts of wilful damage. Judge Strettell said they appeared to be “a cross between vigilante action and revenge”.
On January 22, Blair saw her ex- partner’s car outside a Halfway Bush home. She took to the rear of the vehicle with a baseball bat with such venom, she broke the bat, a police summary revealed.
Six months later, the defendant was at it again. She parked up outside a St Kilda address and used her key to gouge several marks into the side of her former friend’s ute.
The next day, Blair did the same thing to her ex’s car in Mornington.
The total bill for the damage came to $1521.
Blair was sentenced to 150 hours’ community work, nine months’ supervision and ordered to pay the full reparation amount at $10 a week.