Death driver off road for longer

No driving for seven years

A TOOWOOMBA man jailed and disqualified from driving after admitting crashing his car at speed while drink-driving that left a teenager dead has had his disqualification period extended by more than two years.

Jake Andrew Gary Cooper appeared by video link from the prison to plead guilty before Toowoomba Magistrates Court to driving with a blood/alcohol level of 0.072 on the night of the crash on September 5, 2015.

Promising 17-year-old Toowoomba footballer Lachlan Percy who was in the back seat at the time was killed when the car crashed into a tree off the New England Hwy near Mt Kynoch.

Cooper’s driver’s licence was already suspended due to a drink-driving charge in July that year when he blew 0.143 which was yet to be dealt with by the court at the time of the crash.

The court heard yesterday Cooper had been at the Highfields Tavern earlier that night drinking with friends.

About 10.30pm he had climbed onto a bar stool and dropped his pants exposing his buttocks to bar staff, the court heard.

He pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly on a licensed premises arising from that incident.

His solicitor Nathan Bouchier said that incident was not related to the crash and his client had gone home from the tavern before driving into Toowoomba.

Cooper, who will turn 21 on March 29, was sentenced in Toowoomba District Court last month to four and a half years jail, the term to be suspended after having served 16 months, after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death while speeding.

He was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for five years.

For driving with a blood/alcohol level of 0.072 at the time of the crash, Magistrate Jason Schubert yesterday fined Cooper $500 which was transferred to SPER (State Penalties Enforcement Registry).

However, on the drink-driving offence he was disqualified from driving for four months and for driving on a suspended licence he was disqualified from driving for the mandatory two years.

Those disqualification periods were cumulative to the five year disqualification period, taking the total period of disqualification to seven years and four months.

On the drunk and disorderly charge Cooper was convicted but not further punished.