‘Dumb’ driving ends up in court
When a Taranaki teen revved his engine and pulled up his handbrake, he didn’t realise he was being watched by a police officer. It was close to midnight on the first Friday of 2017 when Kaleb Clive Hagenson, 19, was busted for doing skids on Breakwater Rd, near Ngamotu Beach in New Plymouth.
Police prosecutor Detective Sergeant Dave MacKenzie said an officer watched as Hagenson deliberately skidded down Breakwater Rd for about 30 metres. After Hagenson was pulled over, he offered up no explanation for his antics, other than agreeing with his partner that he had checked the traffic was clear before he did his skid.
Yesterday, Hagenson appeared in the New Plymouth District Court and pleaded guilty to one charge of sustained loss of traction. Judge Philip Crayton described Hagenson’s actions as ‘‘dumb’’. ’’There is no doubt that this was deliberate, given you checked the traffic before you did so,’’ he said. ’’That was probably a wise move in what was a seriously dumb piece of behaviour. ’’You are now standing in a courtroom at the age of 19 and you have got a conviction. ’’And you have got a disqualification.’’
Crayton disqualified Hagenson from driving for six months and ordered he pay court costs of $130.
‘‘You are going to have six months off the road to think about how you drive in the future,’’ Crayton said. ‘‘If you drive during that period then you have to understand that that’s a separate event which can lead to imprisonment.’’
Cast sought for transgender tale
A play exploring the difficulties transgender people faced 100 years ago and continue to face today is coming to Inglewood, and auditions are now open. Eugenia by Lorae Parry and directed by Sharren Read, tells the story of Jack Martelli, a female-to-male transgender man who is determined to be himself in 1916. However, he’s also deceiving his beloved and struggling to live an impossible life in an era when gender difference was considered perverted and evil. Eugenia requires a number of actors of all age groups who like to act a lot, and sing and dance a little. The auditions are at Cue Theatre, Inglewood, on Tuesday, January 17, at 7.30pm. For more information or for a script, contact the director on 0272554124 or email on shar2260@gmail.com.