Man had been drinking but was not drunk when he crashed

A man from New Plymouth had been drinking before getting into a vehicle, speeding, losing control and crashing into a parked car.

However, he was not drunk. Hori Haami Maremare told police he became angry while drinking at a property on Pitt St in Whanganui at 2.20pm on Wednesday, June 5 and wanted to get away.

He entered a vehicle and went skidding off a grass verge as he drove aggressively down Pitt St towards the Glasgow St intersection.

Police prosecutor Stephen Butler said Maremare, who appeared in Whanganui District Court on Tuesday for sentencing, failed to slow down for the intersection.

“The defendant turned left on to Glasgow St and he crossed the centre line during the turn due to his speed around the corner,” Butler said.

“He attempted to correct his error and turned back into the left lane. As a result of the correction, the defendant collided with a parked vehicle on the side of the road, causing moderate damage.”

Maremare accelerated away after the collision, was located by police later in the day and charged with failing to stop or ascertain injury and careless driving.

Maremare holds a learner licence and did not have a suitable overseer with him in the car at the time he crashed.

Duty solicitor Ollie Crosse said Maremare was unemployed and travelled to Whanganui from New Plymouth frequently to see his children.

“In respect of the offending here, the summary does mention that he admitted to drinking. No charges resulted from that,” Crosse said.

“He didn’t think anybody was in the parked car, he’d seen that car parked there before and certainly didn’t see anyone when he hit it.”

Judge Dugald Matheson said fining Maremare was not an option as he had $5000 in outstanding fines.

The judge sentenced Maremare to 80 hours’ community work and he was also disqualified from driving for six months.