Crash driver makes frank admission to police

A man’s admission to police he was ‘‘completely drunk’’ when he crashed his car into a farmer’s fence played a part in him racking up a second charge, it was heard in court.

Following a friend’s funeral on November 20, Dylan Rex Benjamin-Holdaway had been drinking alcohol. At about 11.45pm that night he got in a vehicle and drove along Wiremu Rd in South Taranaki.

The 29-year-old crossed a single lane bridge, skidded off the road and smashed into a power pole, landing on a farmer’s fence, police prosecutor Stephen Hickey told Ha¯ wera District Court yesterday.

Benjamin-Holdaway, who is on a restricted driver’s licence, was then located by police about four hours after the crash.

He underwent a breath test and blew a result just below the legal limit.

The adult legal limit is 250 micrograms per litre of breath.

But he told police he had been drunk while at the wheel and had thought he was further down Wiremu Rd and driving over a different one-way bridge.

In court duty solicitor Nathan Bourke entered pleas of guilty to a charge of careless driving and one of operating a motor vehicle while incapable, on BenjaminHoldaway’s behalf.

Bourke submitted his client was due credit for admitting to police he had been drunk as this had led to the second charge.

But following the hearing Hickey said that before police tracked down BenjaminHoldaway they had located the crashed and abandoned vehicle and discovered a number of empty and full cans of alcohol inside.

This was the basis for filing the second charge, which was then confirmed by his admission, Hickey said.

Judge Sygrove disqualified Benjamin-Holdaway from driving for six months, ordered him to pay reparation of $200 to the farmer and fined him a total of $600 plus court costs.