Connor Lawrence Loader in court for drink driving, driving without due care and attention

There was a screeching of tyres, then a crash as a car flipped onto the footpath at a busy regional intersection. Then, nothing. Here is what happened in court:

A Gympie tradie, who caused a horrific accident involving a car carrying a 10-week-old baby in Gympie, has been convicted of drink driving at the time of the accident.

Connor Lawrence Loader, 24, was supported by one person in Gympie Magistrates Court on Thursday, August 4, 2022, where he pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and drink driving.

The court heard Loader was charged following a crash at the intersection of Red Hill Rd and Crown Rd, near Crescent Rd in Gympie on June 24, 2022, after his Hyundai iLoad collided with a Mitsubishi Outlander carrying a 10-week-old baby.

Loader did not stop at a stop sign at the intersection and did not see the oncoming Outlander, which collided with his car and flipped it on its side.

Emergency services were called, but thankfully nobody was seriously injured.

Connor Loader pleaded guilty in Gympie Magistrates Court on Thursday to two charges, including drink driving and driving without due care and attention. Photo: Facebook

Loader was breath tested at the scene and blew 0.062, but police prosecutor Melissa Campbell said there was no evidence to suggest this had affected his driving.

The reading came after Loader drank two schooners after a round of golf, the court heard.

However, Sergeant Campbell noted Loader had an “extensive” traffic history, including accumulating 13 demerit points between October 3, 2019 and November 8, 2020 for speeding, including driving more than 30km over the limit, and for following another vehicle too closely.

Defence lawyer Clancy Robba said his client, who was on call for his job as a renderer at the time of the crash, had participated in a road safety program after the crash.

He said Loader was not familiar with the intersection and slowed down but did not stop at the line after the car in front of him did the same.

“He did look left and right, he didn’t see the Outlander, rolled through the intersection and collided with it,” he said.

After the crash, Loader was left $13,000 out of pocket for damage to the car.

Magistrate Chris Callaghan said aside from Loader’s shocking history behind the wheel, he was held in high regard as a law-abiding citizen.

He was fined $600 and disqualified from driving for one month.

A conviction was not recorded.