REVEALED: Ipswich’s worst drink driving suburbs of 2023, offenders exposed
New data has revealed Ipswich’s worst suburbs for drink driving in 2023, as we take a look back at the most notable drink and drug driving cases of the last year.
Police & Courts
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The Ipswich Courthouse welcomes countless drink and drug driving offenders through its doors every week, with police statistics now revealing how offending has continued at full force into 2023.
In June, the Ipswich police district saw the highest number of drink driving offences reported for the year so far — 127.
In the first six months of 2023, offence numbers averaged slightly higher than 2021 across the police district, but lower than 2022 which saw a significant spike to 175 offences reported in July.
Senior Sergeant Troy Hamilton of Ipswich Highway Patrol said the percentage of drivers that did the wrong thing may be small, but they still pose an absolute risk to their fellow road users.
He said police were seeing drink and drug drivers behind the wheel “anywhere and any time of day”.
“They’re going through school zones, they’re going between home and work … There’s no specific pattern,” he said.
Sen Sgt Hamilton said people needed to remember that police could and would test road users for drugs and alcohol anywhere and anytime in response.
Ipswich police divisions with the highest drink driving offences reported in the first six months of 2023:
Goodna: 132
Ipswich: 115
Yamanto: 109
Springfield: 68
Karana Downs: 64
Divisions with the lowest drink driving offences reported:
Toogoolawah: 2
Kalbar: 5
Marburg: 12
Esk: 15
Harrisville: 17
Sen Sgt Hamilton said the community might be surprised to learn the amount of drink and drug drivers his team typically detect on the roads is “nearly 50-50”.
He said there appeared to be an increasing trend in recent years towards drug driving – particularly by users of methamphetamine and cannabis.
“There seems to be this opinion by some offenders that once the drug has worn off they’re no longer impaired, when it can remain in their systems for 10 days to two weeks,” he said.
Sen Sgt Hamilton emphasised that drink and drug driving formed just one of the “fatal five” that police often saw involved with crashes on our roads.
The five include speeding, drink or drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, driving tired and distracted driving.
Sen Sgt Hamilton said the Highway Patrol team in Ipswich give particular focus to the same “heightened risk periods” where police campaigns against dangerous driving ramp up across the state, including school holidays.
He referred to their road safety slogan “there’s nothing more we can do” – explaining that at a certain point, the fight against dangerous driving came down to each individual’s choice to get behind the wheel.
Read about the notable drink and drug driving cases Ipswich has seen in the last year:
DRINK DRIVERS
CONVICTIONS RECORDED:
WILLIAM DAVIE
Repeat drunk driver William George Davie fronted Ipswich Magistrates Court last November after his “bizarre” highway pursuit of another road user.
A magistrate labelled him a “red hot risk” to the community, but gave him immediate parole after learning about his troubling health circumstances.
The North Brisbane man had stopped in the middle of the Cunningham Highway with a blood alcohol reading of 0.135 on May 28 last year.
Another driver pulled over and asked if Davie was okay, and Davie told him he was fine.
But after the other driver continued on, Davie followed after him and drove into oncoming traffic in order to overtake him.
The other driver did a U-turn back in the other direction, but Davie followed, sped up, and attempted to ram into his car.
The other man pulled over so they could speak, but Davie circled his car around him and slammed into one of the car doors – causing around $935 damage.
Davie pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle, obstructing police, driving a motor vehicle while over the middle alcohol limit, and failing to comply with the duties of a driver involved in a crash.
The court heard Davie had been diagnosed with severe emphysema and cardiomyopathy, and had suffered a heart attack the day before his sentence.
His lawyer argued that sending Davie to jail could be the “difference between life and death”.
Davie was ordered to pay full restitution to the other driver and was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment with immediate parole.
He was disqualified from driving for 10 months for the drink driving and 18 months for the dangerous operation of a vehicle.
ROBERT DERKS
Springfield resident Robert Derks returned to court for drink driving offending last September, more than a decade after he was jailed for vehicular manslaughter.
In 2011, Derks was convicted of manslaughter and dangerous operation of a vehicle offending, which had resulted in the death of a 50-year-old woman.
He was towards the end of his parole for the manslaughter when he reoffended in January last year, the court heard.
Derks had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.211 per cent when he drove an “extensively damaged” car, emitting smoke, in Redbank Plains around 5.10pm on January 29.
Police followed as Derks’s speed increased to 100kmh in the 50kmh residential zone.
Derks overtook a white ute, which took evasive action, and eventually stopped when the police caught up.
Mr Walker said the offending had a “high degree of similarity” to Derks’ previous offending.
“What concerns me is that while you were on parole for those offences and, having been sentenced to significant periods of imprisonment for them, you were not deterred from embarking a course of dangerous conduct of a similar nature,” he said.
Derks received a head sentence of 12 months imprisonment, cumulative to the 2011 sentence, with immediate parole eligibility.
His 179 days of presentence custody were taken into account, but not declared time-served, and he was disqualified from driving for a further two years.
KYLE MILIANIS
Bayside carpenter Kyle Milianis was busted driving with a BAC of 0.172 per cent after a mishap at his boss’s wedding.
He had been planning to stay the night at his boss’s house, but drove off after the two of them had an argument.
Milianis was on his way back to apologise when police intercepted him at the BP off the Cunningham Highway in Purga.
The court heard he had lost his job as a result of the argument.
He had also suffered further losses of his mother and an eight-year relationship in the last few years.
However, the court heard this was not his first drink driving offence.
He had previously fronted court for a 0.156 per cent reading in 2020.
Magistrate Deborah Vasta said Milianis needed to learn a lesson, to “make sure this doesn’t happen again”.
She sentenced Milianis to two months probation, with a conviction recorded.
Milianis was further disqualified from driving for 12 months.
MATTHEW GRIMMOND
Lowood father-of-four Matthew Gary Grimmond was jailed earlier this year over an horrific motorbike crash which left the victim with “life-altering” injuries.
Grimmond had been driving with a blood alcohol reading of 0.97 per cent on Coominya Connection Rd, Mount Tarampa on December 11 last year.
The Ipswich Magistrates Court heard how Grimmond crossed over the centre line of the road and collided with a motorcyclist who was driving in the opposite direction.
The motorcyclist, Shaun Patrick O’Dea, suffered significant injuries including fractured ribs, a fractured and displaced right femur, a displaced left femur and a “degloving’’ (skin torn off) of his foot.
He was hospitalised for months and the court heard he would have likely died without extensive medical treatment.
Grimmond pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road (causing grievous bodily harm), driving over the general alcohol limit, and driving a defective light vehicle.
He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, suspended for two years after he serves three months’ actual jail time.
He was further disqualified from driving for 12 months and a further one month for driving with alcohol in his system.
MICHAEL SCHRAPEL
Ipswich jockey and father of three Michael James Schrapel was busted more than five times the legal alcohol limit after his major racing event was washed out earlier this year.
The Silkstone dad had been staying in Charleville for the Quiplie Cup in April, and went out drinking after the event was cancelled.
Police intercepted him around 2am on April 30 and Schrapel returned a breath alcohol concentration of 0.254 per cent.
Schrapel represented himself in court and said his choice to drive was “just a silly mistake” and that he “thought [he’d] be ‘right”.
Schrapel pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of liquor, and was fined $1500.
His licence was disqualified for 12 months and a conviction was recorded.
NO CONVICTIONS RECORDED:
TIMOTHY SHEPHERD
Former Senior constable Timothy Lawrence Shepherd crashed a police car into a civilian car while drunk on the job earlier this year.
The occupants of the other car were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Shepherd stood down from duty after he returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.161.
The court the decorated police officer was expected to face further disciplinary action, but hoped to convince the Police Commissioner to reinstate him.
He started drinking more after the breakdown of his nine-year relationship and “some other work pressures” that could not be disclosed.
Shepherd pleaded guilty on April 20 to a single count of driving under the influence of liquor.
He was fined $1050 and disqualified from driving for six months.
A conviction was not recorded.
NICHOLAS GROVE
QUT business student Nicholas Grove tripled the legal alcohol limit driving to his mum’s birthday breakfast last December.
He told the Ipswich Magistrates Court that he would have to pay a minimum $3850 in Uber fares to get to work if his licence was disqualified.
The court heard Grove was pulled over on the Cunningham Highway in Willowbank around 10am for a random check.
He returned a BAC of 0.15, and told police he had been drinking from around 12pm the previous day into the early hours of morning.
Defence lawyer Caprice Gobie-Smith said her client had genuinely believed that he was no longer under the influence of alcohol at the time.
Magistrate David Shepherd said if that were true, Grove clearly had “no idea about the impacts of alcohol on himself” and that he still represented a considerable danger to the community.
Grove pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of liquor.
He was fined $1200 and disqualified from driving for 10 months.
A conviction was not recorded.
DRUG DRIVERS
CONVICTIONS RECORDED:
EBONY TRIGGS
Ipswich mum Ebony Triggs was caught smashing into barriers on the Pacific Motorway after a wild drug-fuelled hens weekend.
Police received a triple-0 call about Triggs’ red Honda Civic travelling in an erratic manner on October 12 last year.
When police intercepted Triggs she had no control of her limbs, and had slurred speech and red eyes.
They found a range of drugs in her system including amphetamines, meth, diazepam, oxopam, benzo and GBH.
She pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs and driving without due care and attention in Beenleigh Magistrates Court.
The court heard Triggs had previously been sentenced for drug driving in 2021.
For the most recent drug drive, she was fined $1000 and disqualified from driving for four months.
JAKE BIGNOUX
Repeat drug-driving tradie Jake Bignoux pleaded guilty earlier this year to his fourth drug driving offence in three years.
The Churchill painter drove with meth present in his system on two occasions in early 2023 – first in Yamanto on January 20, and second in Churchill on February 21.
Bignoux had believed the drug would be out of his system, as he had used the drug nearly a week prior to driving on both occasions.
The court heard he had struggled with the loss of a close friend in recent years but since sought mental health support.
Bignoux was fined $1000 and disqualified from driving for six months.
SAPHFIRE ERIHE-SCHAFFER
Redbank Plains local Saphfire Erihe-Schaffer was jailed earlier this year after her a New Year drug relapse spiralled into an erratic and dangerous morning drive.
Erihe-Schaffer had to be restrained and sedated in the middle of the road after an “erratic” morning drive through Silkstone.
The court heard she had “quite a cocktail of drugs” in her system at the time including amphetamine, methamphetamine, droperidol (a prescription drug) and GHB.
Erihe-Schaffer had come to an abrupt stop in the middle of an intersection, having realised the drugs were affecting her driving.
An ambulance and police were called after witnesses watched her having what appeared to be a drug-related seizure in the driver’s seat.
Erihe-Schaeffer pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of liquor, driving without a licence (disqualified by court order) and possession of a knife in a public place.
She was sentenced to three months’ jail wholly suspended for nine months, taking into account (but not formally declaring) her 63 days in presentence custody.
She was further sentenced to nine months’ probation and disqualified from driving for two years and six months.
KATHERINE MAXWELL
Katherine Ann Maxwell’s grave mistake on the road outside a major Ipswich shopping centre left a young man with a brain injury, a court heard earlier this year.
The teary Collingwood Park mum told the Ipswich District Court that she was determined to never get behind a wheel again.
She had driven through a red light, shortly after it changed over from amber, at an intersection outside Redbank Plaza in January 2022.
She collided with skateboarder at the pedestrian crossing, who was hospitalised for six days as a result with a small right temporal brain contusion, skull fracture, rib fracture and lung contusions.
The court heard Maxwell had smoked cannabis the day before.
It was not suggested the drug had affected her driving – but the prosecution said it demonstrated a “reckless attitude” to driving.
Defence barrister Dr Patricia Petersen said her client was a “very good person” who had been “absolutely tortured” by the idea of jail.
Maxwell pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and driving with a relevant drug in her saliva.
She was sentenced to six months imprisonment, immediately suspended for 12 months, and disqualified from driving for six months for each charge.
DYLAN FISCHER
Repeat drug driver Dylan Fischer faced Ipswich Magistrates Court in February over a horror crash that claimed the life of his passenger.
The apprentice chef was in tears as the court heard how he had driven with methamphetamines and THC in his system February 14, 2021, at Pacific Pines.
His tyres screeched as he crossed onto the right hand lane, mounted the centre median curbing, and swerved sideways into a large tree.
One of his passengers Jamie John Field, 33, died as a result of the collision and another passenger suffered serious injuries.
The court heard Fischer was not only disqualified from driving at the time, but that he had never actually possessed a driver’s licence in the first place.
The Ipswich resident had a history of drug and disqualified driving in 2019 and 2020, the court heard.
Fischer pleaded guilty to a swath of charges including driving without due care and attention causing death while unlicensed, and driving with a relevant drug in his system.
Magistrate Jason Schubert said the maximum penalty he could impose for the drive without due care charge was two years imprisonment.
“I don’t think we are very far away when I consider the outcome … It’s hard to imagine a much worse scenario,” he said.
He sentenced Fischer to 20 months imprisonment for his current offending, along with a cumulative three months imprisonment for breaching a probation order.
Fischer’s parole date was set for March 31, 2023 – after he served one third of his sentence, which included his 201 days in pre-sentence custody.
JESSICA CHRISTENSEN
Logan mum Jessica Skye Christensen fronted Ipswich Magistrates court at 27 weeks pregnant last October for a dangerously slow drive along the Warrego Highway.
Christensen had a “cocktail of drugs” in her system at the time of the offending – which occurred in April 2021, before she became pregnant.
An off-duty paramedic reported seeing her “swerving all over the road” on the Ipswich Motorway around 6.30pm.
Police detected drugs in her blood including fantasy, methamphetamine, antidepressants, a metabolite of cocaine and a metabolite of diazepam.
Christensen pleaded guilty to charges including dangerous operation of a vehicle and adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, driving under the influence, three counts of unlicensed driving, and driving while a relevant drug was relevant in her saliva.
She was sentenced to two years of probation and disqualified from driving for two years and nine months.
MICHAEL HICKS
Michael Colin Hicks’ meth-fuelled police chase resulted in the destruction of a $196,000 car and sent his partner to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Hicks had been driving unlicensed and veered into oncoming traffic on the Logan Motorway in an attempt to evade police.
He crashed into a Dodge Ram, whose driver miraculously suffered no major injuries.
Hicks suffered a brain injury and collapsed lung, while his partner was hospitalised with fractures to her spine, pelvis, leg and feet, along with a lacerated kidney, injured spleen and blood clots.
She attended court to support Hicks nonetheless, embracing and kissing him at the dock.
The court heard Hicks’ criminal history showed “persistent offending … all having a similar character where it’s impulsive, erratic and volatile behaviour”.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing grievous bodily harm while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, evasion, driving without a licence and obstructing a police officer.
He was sentenced to five years’ jail, with 310 days in presentence custody declared time-served and parole eligibility date on April 13, 2023.
LILAINIA HUGHES
Mum of seven Lilainia Lee Hughes fronted Ipswich Magistrates Court last August for driving with meth in her saliva while on her P-plates.
She pleaded guilty to charges including driving with a relevant drug in her system, two counts of possessing dangerous drugs, and driving without a licence.
The court heard Hughes had suffered significant losses throughout her life including the death of her fiance and one of her children.
She had started using amphetamines to cope in the early 2000s but was now “trying her best to stay on the right track,” the court heard.
Magistrate Kathleen Payne encouraged her to get on top of her addiction for the sake of her children.
She sentenced Hughes to 18 months probation, fined her $800, and disqualified her from driving for 11 months.
BRADLEY MCQUILLAN
Truck driver Bradley David McQuillan caused highway chaos when he fell asleep on the wheel with meth in his system and swerved into ongoing traffic.
McQuillan had been driving his light truck for around nine hours when he nodded off on the Brisbane Valley Highway in July 2022.
One car crashed in an attempt to avoid McQuillan’s truck, which continued forward and pushed another car backwards off the road.
A witness said they “saw cars going off both sides of the road” before McQuillan’s car collided with a barrier and came to a stope.
By what the court heard appeared to be “good luck”, no one was seriously injured.
McQuillan pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention, possession of utensils or pipes that had been used, and driving while a relevant drug was present in his saliva.
He was fined $1000, with a conviction recorded, and disqualified from driving for four months.
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