KFC run leads to drink driving charge for St Clair man Scott Allan Thorne

A trip to KFC has landed a St Clair man in hot water and in court, after he blew more than three times over the blood alcohol limit.

A St Clair man has appeared in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court on drink driving charges.

A St Clair man has received a dressing down from a magistrate after colliding with a traffic light pole on Port Road while drink driving.

Scott Allan Thorne, 23, appeared in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday charged with driving with excessive blood alcohol and without due care.

Thorne plead guilty to the charges.

The court heard at 7.30pm on April 3 last year, Thorne collided with a traffic light pole at the intersection of Port and Woodville roads in Woodville South.

The collision occurred after Thorne had been drinking beers at home and then drove to KFC.

Magistrate John Wells said Thorne needed to understand there were serious consequences to his actions.

The intersection of Woodville and Port roads where a man was caught drink driving after running into a traffic light pole. Picture: Paula Thompson

“You were drunk and crashed into a large stationary item on a rainy night when you were significantly affected by alcohol,” Mr Wells said.

“You had been at home, feeling sad and homesick, because you missed your family in Tasmania, who you had been unable to visit because of travel restrictions due to the (coronavirus) pandemic.

“I accept that you were genuinely upset and dealt with this emotional distress by drinking to excess.

“What is disappointing is that you then decided to drive.”

Magistrate Wells said Thorne’s blood alcohol reading on the night was 0.151.

“You were significantly affected by alcohol, your reading places you in the highest category of drink driving,” he said.

“It is clearly the case that both your judgment in deciding to drive and your judgment in your ability to drive properly were impaired.

“It was raining hard that night and traffic conditions were inherently dangerous.

“I have no doubt you would have grown up with media warnings about the dangers of drink driving.

“his is not a case where you have made an understandable misjudgment on the amount of alcohol you consumed – you were significantly drunk.”

Thorne was convicted, fined $1100 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.