Thomas McGurk fronts court over drink, careless driving after crash outside Barwon Heads Hotel

A young drink driver has been given a stern warning after crashing into a bollard outside the Barwon Heads Hotel last year.

Thomas Joseph McGurk. Picture: Facebook

A young drink driver has been given a stern reprimand by a Geelong judicial registrar, who said he was lucky he hadn’t killed anyone when he crashed outside a popular pub.

Thomas Joseph McGurk, 19, from Ballarat, appeared in Geelong Magistrates Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving and failing a breath test.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Kerrie Moroney told the court McGurk was travelling west across the Barwon River on Bridge Rd between Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove just after 2am on September 29 last year.

At the roundabout on the Barwon Heads side of the bridge, McGurk kept travelling straight ahead and crashed into a bollard in front of the Barwon Heads Hotel, the court heard.

Constable Moroney said McGurk admitted to being the driver at the scene and co-operated with police.

An evidentiary breath test found McGurk had a blood alcohol reading of 0.169 at the time.

Judicial registrar Michael Bolte said everyone was “entitled to youthful foolishness and exuberance” and told McGurk he was lucky nobody was injured in the crash.

“No matter who you are, if you kill someone you’re going to jail,” Mr Bolte said.

Mr Bolte questioned McGurk about whether he had a drinking problem, and said it was concerning that someone at that age would be drinking until they could not recall their actions.

McGurk, who was supported in court by his mother, told the court he told his father about the crash “a few days” later, and said he had stopped drinking.

The court heard McGurk was a student at Deakin University, where he was studying commerce.

Mr Bolte told McGurk he wouldn’t fully understand the gravity of his actions, or the impact they had on his parents, until he had children himself.

“They’re thinking ‘What did I do wrong (as a parent)?’” Mr Bolte said.

McGurk was fined $1200 without conviction and was disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Originally published as Thomas McGurk fronts court over drink, careless driving after crash outside Barwon Heads Hotel