Mateusz Sieprawski: Dalby chef lucky to be alive after crashing car on Bunya Hwy while five times the drink driving limit

A chef’s drunken decision to pick up a mate’s dog from Kingaroy almost cost him his life when he lost control of his girlfriend’s car, ploughing through a fence before rolling multiple times.

A Dalby chef is lucky to be alive after he rolled his girlfriend’s car multiple times while more than five times the legal limit.

Mateusz Piotr Sieprawski, 30, admitted to being an alcoholic after the incident, in which he was trapped in the vehicle until a passing motorist found the Kumbia crash scene.

Sieprawski was driving along the Bunya Hwy towards Kingaroy about 6.30pm on October 21, on an almost straight stretch of the road when he lost control of the car.

The 30-year-old swerved off the highway and ploughed through a barbed wire fence before rolling several times.

A motorist later happened upon the scene and Sieprawski was rushed to Kingaroy Hospital for “urgent medical care”.

Blood taken at the hospital showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.267.

Police spoke to the chef at his home the following month, where he told officers he was “an alcoholic” and had lost control of the car on the night.

Lawyer Jay Rose told the Kingaroy Magistrates Court her client had since completed a two-month rehabilitation program, and continued to attend Alcoholics Anonymous.

The former Bunya Mountains and Kingaroy chef now works in Dalby and said he understood he was “lucky to be alive”.

Ms Rose said he had consumed several beers on the night and was driving to Kingaroy to pick up a friend’s dog, not realising how much he had drunk.

“His belief was that his body had a high tolerance for alcohol as a result of previous year’s dependence and abuse,” Ms Rose said.

Sieprawski, who had two previous drink driving convictions, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and driving without due care and attention.

He was sentenced to three months’ jail, suspended for two years, and banned from driving for two years.