Monaghan guilty on drink-drive charge

Press, 19 April 1986, Page 4

Monaghan guilty on drink-drive charge

PA Wellington Desmond John Monaghan, a television executive, pleaded guilty in the District Court at Wellington on a charge of driving with an excess blood-alcohol level. Monaghan, aged 46, of Karori, also pleaded guilty to crossing over a no-passing line. Traffic Sergeant Stephen Sargent, prosecuting, said that about 1 a.m. on February 8 Monaghan was travelling on the Wellington urban motorway. He crossed a metre over the no-passing line into the right-hand lane and continued for 100 metres.

He was stopped, found to have been drinking, and a blood test showed he had 173 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.

Counsel, Mr I. A. Greg, said Monaghan had been in six hours of difficult, demanding negotiations, after which he had gone to a restaurant with an associate. He was driving home when he was stopped. At the time only one other car was in the vicinity, a mufti traffic police car. Judge Henwood noted that although this was Monaghan’s first such offence, his blood-alcohol level was “pretty high.” Monaghan was fined $450, disqualified from driving for six months, and ordered to pay $7l in medical and analyst’s fees. On the charge of driving over the no-passing line, he was convicted and discharged.