Mark Andrew Petersen pleads guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to drink driving

A man who was found concealed behind a pile of waste taking a ‘pee’ offered a devastating reason for drinking rums and beers before getting behind the wheel.

A Surat man told the court the reason for his drunk driving episode was because he had to euthanize his dog.

Mark Andrew Petersen pleaded guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to drink driving over the middle alcohol limit.

Police prosecutions said at 7pm on December 2, police spotted a utility vehicle behind a mound of discarded waste on Burrowes St, Surat.

When police approached the vehicle it proceeded to slowly go around the mound giving the appearance it was trying to hide, the court was told.

Police found a can of alcohol in the front of the vehicle and breath analysis revealed Petersen had a blood alcohol reading of 0.116.

“He had just driven from home to euthanize one of his old dogs which he was clearly upset about and he stopped behind the mound to pee,” prosecutions said.

Defence lawyer Laurie Parker said his client wasn’t attempting to hide from the police, it was “just an error in judgement”.

Other than a speeding fine dating back to 1991, Petersen has no other entries on his criminal history.

Magistrate Shane Elliott handed him a $200 fine and disqualified him from driving for three months. No conviction was recorded.