Joshua Bernard O’Brien sentenced for drunken Yeppoon crash

Footage of a drink driver’s wild ride at Yeppoon shows a pedestrian having to run “to narrowly avoid being hit” by his Toyota Corolla, a court has heard. DETAILS.

Joshua Bernard O'Brien.

A pedestrian had to run to avoid being hit by a drunk driver who lost control and crashed his car on a popular beachfront strip at night, a court has heard.

Joshua Bernard O’Brien, 47, pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court on May 9 to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle while adversely affected, drink-driving, and possessing dangerous drugs.

Police prosecutor Corey O’Connor said about 9pm on March 2, police were called to a single-vehicle crash on Yeppoon’s Anzac Parade.

When officers arrived, they saw the Toyota Corolla that O’Brien had been driving “mounted on” the pedestrian footpath, against a garden wall in front of The Spinnaker restaurant.

Paramedics treated O’Brien at the crash scene.

Joshua Bernard O'Brien.

Mr O’Connor said police viewed footage which showed O’Brien, prior to the crash, driving on the wrong side of the road on Anzac Parade.

“Towards an oncoming vehicle before mounting a kerb and accelerating towards a pedestrian,” Mr O’Connor said.

The prosecutor said the footage showed the pedestrian running “to narrowly avoid being hit” by O’Brien’s car before it crashed into the wall.

Mr O’Connor said police searched O’Brien’s car about an hour after the crash, and on the front passenger seat in a carry bag, they found a rolled joint containing 0.9g of cannabis.

They also found a clip-seal bag which had 6.5g of cannabis in it.

O’Brien subsequently returned a blood alcohol reading of .166.

Mr O’Connor said it was “very lucky” no-one was seriously hurt in the crash.

The court heard that O’Brien had a “brief traffic record for his age” and his criminal history contained no relevant offending.

Solicitor Dominic Jorgensen said on the day of the crash, O’Brien had been drinking scotch at a gathering at a family friend’s house.

He said O’Brien accepted he should not have driven, was remorseful for what he did, and the “whole episode has been a wake-up call.”

Mr Jorgensen said O’Brien was currently receiving a disability support pension and he suffered from bipolar for which he was receiving treatment.

Magistrate Philippa Beckinsale fined O’Brien $2150 and disqualified him from driving for 18 months.

Convictions were recorded.