Alexandra District Court

ALEXANDRA: A 17yearold who crashed his father’s car had probably been delivered a far ‘‘more colourful’’ message from his father than he had from the court, Judge Michael Crosbie said.

Zachary Lachlan McKenzie had driven at 140kmh in Sandflat Rd, a gravel road that had a 30kmh speed limit, the Alexandra District Court heard yesterday.

He fishtailed and lost control of the car, crashing it through a fence and coming to rest against a tree.

Counsel for McKenzie, Joseph Mooney, said McKenzie had ‘‘had to hear about it from his dad’’, and McKenzie knew he had made a ‘‘big mistake’’.

When Judge Crosbie asked McKenzie what was going through his head when he went out of control, he said his thoughts were: ‘‘I’ve screwed up Dad’s car, I’ll have to go to court, and there’s going to be a lot of pain going through this.’’

When Judge Crosbie asked if he also thought he was going to die, McKenzie said ‘‘yes’’.

Judge Crosbie told McKenzie to ‘‘hold on to that thought, because that’s what happens to some people when they lose control’’.

‘‘At this very young age this should be one of those experiences you can hold out and say ‘Boy, I had a lesson very early on that I shouldn’t repeat’,’’ Judge Crosbie said.

‘‘Put it down to a lifedefining experience . . . your dad has prob ably said it more colourfully than I did.’’

McKenzie was fined $600, ordered to pay $500 reparation and disqualified from driving for six months.