Dunedin District Court

THE defendant was 56. He acknowledged it was time to grow up, public defender Sophia Thorburn submitted in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.

Maletino Keneti Mika, employed, of Dunedin, was for sentence convicted of driving with a breathalcohol level of 1203mcg, and dangerously, on May 10.

He had pleaded guilty.

The fact summary said Mika was heading south on the Southern Motorway, about 6.40pm.

He was driving erratically and swerving between lanes.

At one point, while swerving, he almost collided with another vehicle.

Its driver was significantly alarmed and signalled him to pull over.

When he stopped, in Quarry Rd, the person offered to drive him to his destination.

Mika acknowledged he had been swerving but refused the offer.

He continued driving and, in Gordon Rd, he passed on the inside a utility vehicle which was turning left into Bruce St, colliding with its passenger side and causing moderate damage.

Continuing on in front of the utility, he crossed the road and crashed into a concrete fence in Bruce St.

After hitting the fence, he drove on the grass verge, eventually coming to a stop wedged between a Landcruiser vehicle and a tree.

He then got out of his vehicle and left the scene, followed by members of the public.

Police located him in Gordon Rd.

Spoken to, he admitted consuming one dozen bottles of beer.

Judge Michael Turner noted Mika had two previous drinkdrive convictions — one in 1988, the other in 2018. He also noted Mika was willing to attend restorative justice and pay reparation, and willing to address his drinking habits.

Mika received an overall sentence of four months' community detention (curfewed 7pm Fridays to 4am Mondays), nine months' supervision, 28 days' driving disqualification (with alcoholinterlock and zeroalcohol licence provisions to follow), and is to pay $380 reparation (after already paying $20).