A man has been disqualified from driving and sentenced to home detention for speeding and swerving into oncoming traffic in an 80kmh zone on SH2 in Wairarapa.
Joshua Dillon, 24, was convicted of dangerous driving and refusing to give a blood alcohol test in Masterton District Court yesterday.
On March 14, 2023, he tailgated a car on SH2, swerved across the centreline into the oncoming lane, and overtook a line of cars at 135kmh.
He then approached the next line of vehicles, tailgated, swerved, and pulled into the wrong lane again to overtake them.
When police pulled him over, he refused to give a blood alcohol test and was arrested.
Lawyer Mike Kilbride said his client suffered from ADHD and intended to enrol in a volunteering course to put some structure in his life.
Kilbride said his client admitted home detention was “the punishment he deserves.”
“He pleaded guilty at a very early opportunity, and he’s seeking employment. This a real wakeup call with his attitude to driving,” Kilbride said.
Police prosecutor Sgt Scott said Dillon had two previous dangerous driving convictions, from February and March 2021, and a youth drink driving conviction in November 2017.
Scott said he was currently on a restricted license with 95 demerit points – accumulating 100 or more results in a three-month suspension from driving, after which the offender needs to re-sit their license.
Judge Nicola Willis disqualified Dillon from driving for six months and sentenced him to three months of home detention.
Willis said that alcohol was a constant issue for Dillon. She noted he had previously completed alcohol and drug support and was already serving a previous sentence of community detention and supervision.
Willis cancelled the previous supervision and community detention sentences, as they were due to be completed this month.
Willis said the aggravating factors for the offending were the excessive speed and the aggressive driving style.
“You’re very lucky that your family didn’t suffer a tragic loss.”
will that sentence stop him from driving, bet not. Adele