Mark Kenneth Wharton crashed car while driving with 27-year-old expired licence

Hitting a parked car and fleeing the scene of the crime alerted police to the fact a pensioner hadn’t held a valid licence in almost three decades.

An Eyre Peninsula pensioner who sped off after hitting a parked car hadn’t held a valid driver’s licence in almost three decades.

Mark Kenneth Wharton, 55, pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle without due care, failing to provide particulars within the required time and driving a motor vehicle when not authorised to do so at the Port Lincoln Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

the Port Lincoln Courthouse. Picture: File

The police prosecutor told the court the Minnipa man had struck a parked vehicle outside a residential address in Aldinga on June 4, 2019

The car owner heard an “elaborate crash” and spotted Wharton driving away, swerving down the street and emitting fluid from the undercarriage of his vehicle, the court heard.

CCTV footage identified Wharton’s Holden commodore as the vehicle involved.

The court heard Wharton failed to stop at the time of the incident and told police he thought his wheel had hit something on the side of the road and that the sound coming from his car was due to a “problem with his vehicle and not as a consequence of a collision.”

Police then discovered Wharton’s Western Australian driver’s licence had expired in October 1994.

Magistrate Stefan Metanomsky asked Wharton to remove his mask to speak to explain his actions.

“I’ll just start pleading guilty, your honour,” Wharton said.

“I am remorseful for what happened on the day.”

Magistrate Stefan Metanomsky recorded convictions on all three counts and Wharton was ordered to do 40 hours of community service within four months.