INTOXICATED MOTORIST

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23946, 23 October 1939, Page 8

INTOXICATED MOTORIST

FARMER BEFORE COURT SEQUEL TO COLLISION SALUTARY FINE INFLICTED A sequel to a motor collision which occurred on Friday afternoon at the intersection of Bridgman street and King Edward street was hear.d in the City Police Court on Saturday morning when Harry Dugan, aged 52 appeared before Mr J. R, Bartholomew. S.M. and pleaded gyilty to being intoxicated while in charge of a motor car. The accused was represented by Mr O. G. Stevens. The facts, as detailed by Senior Sergeant Claasen were that shortly before 4.30 on Friday afternoon the accused, who was driving on his wrong side of the road in a southerly direction along Bridgman street, swung wide as he turned into King Edward street and crashed into a motor lorry which was coming in the opposite direction The lorry was travelling at a moderate speed, and was on its correct side of the street. Constable Brownlie who was near the scene of the accident, went over to the car. found that a woman passenger who was in the accused’s car had been seriously injured, and that the accused himself, who was still sitting at the wheel of his car. was in an advanced stage of drunkenness Dugan, the senior sergeant said, was a farmer residing at Maungatua, and he had never previously come under the notice of the police Mr Stevens explained that the accused had had a few drinks on Friday afternoon and both he and his passenger. who was a nurse, thought that he was fit to drive his car It seemed that the accident occurred through the lorry driver attempting to swerve out of Dugan’s way but he made his swerve too late. The senior sergeant: To a certain extent that is true; the driver of the truck was on his correct side and. realising that if he did not do something a collision was inevitable he tried to get out of the accused’s way. The case. Mr Stevens continued was an unfortunate one The accused, who bore an excellent character, rarely came to town, and during the 20 years he had been driving he had never been guilty of any breach of the regulations. In the circumstances, counsel suggested that the court inflict as lenient a penalty as was consistent with the ends of justice. “ This is a bad case of its class,’’ observed his Worship, “and I am not sure that I am justified in dealing with it by way of monetary penalty. However the accused is a man of excellent character. He will be fined £3O, with medical expenses (£1 Is) and his licence will be suspended for 12 months.”