Matthew Nevil Manahan: Man sentenced in Warwick court over dangerous drunken car rampage

A well-known actor who was more than four times the alcohol limit when he drove into oncoming traffic, crashed into trees, and only narrowly avoided striking an elderly woman and young children has been sentenced in the Warwick court. FULL REPORT:

A man who was more than four times the legal alcohol limit when he drove into oncoming traffic, collided with trees, and only narrowly avoided striking an elderly woman and a mother with her young children has been sentenced in the Warwick court.

Matthew Nevil Manahan’s dangerous spree through Stanthorpe was first reported at about 2pm on December 21 last year, when witnesses saw him swing out onto High St and veer onto the wrong side of the road.

Warwick Magistrates Court heard a car travelling in the opposite direction was forced to swerve to avoid a collision with the 26-year-old’s vehicle, with Manahan continuing down the road and pulling into a nearby construction site.

He briefly exited his car before getting back behind the wheel, proceeding to run straight over the top of a small tree before ploughing into a larger tree nearby.

The collision did little to halt Manahan’s rampage, with the Stanthorpe man accelerating along High St and turning back onto Corundum St, where he mounted the footpath and smashed into the fence bordering St Joseph’s School.

The court was told Manahan came dangerously close to striking both an elderly woman getting into her parked car and another woman who was placing her young children inside her vehicle during his out-of-control flight through the town’s CBD.

After several frightened witnesses reported a seemingly “crazy” Manahan’s erratic driving and collisions, police finally tracked down the Stanthorpe man on Railway St, where he recorded a whopping blood alcohol concentration of 0.219.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa said Manahan appeared in court with a clean criminal history and minimal traffic history.

Defence barrister Joshua Morris tendered a written apology from Manahan and several character references from members of the Stanthorpe community and his client’s parents, who also supported their son from the courtroom gallery.

Mr Morris said the Stanthorpe-born actor, who has previously starred in productions such as Hair and scored a gong in the 2020 BroadwayWorld Sydney Awards, had been diagnosed with alcohol use disorder and completed significant counselling and rehabilitation since the incident.

“The principal cause of this offending was Mr Manahan’s alcohol misuse, (and he) has taken substantial steps to deal with that,” he said.

“He’s been of extremely good character previously and has made substantial contributions to the Stanthorpe community.”

Mr Morris said Manahan had already paid compensation for the damages caused and asked that a conviction not be recorded, as it would likely prevent his client from being able to continue making a living as an actor in theatre productions across the country.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess commended Manahan for his efforts to attend alcohol counselling and take other steps towards rehabilitation, but gave him a stern warning that no mental health condition was an excuse for endangering his own or other people’s lives.

“It is obvious to everybody that combining alcohol with driving is dangerous – dangerous to other people, dangerous to you, and dangerous to property,” she said.

“Even if you are suffering significant stress, which seems to be the cause of you relapsing, the combination of stress, alcohol, and vehicles is a frightening combination because people are put at very real risk.

“If you’re aware you have this problem and you’re failing to address it, you should not be behind the wheel of this car.”

Manahan pleaded guilty to one count each of dangerous operation of a vehicle while adversely affected and driving under the influence of liquor.

He was fined $3000 and disqualified from driving for 18 months. No conviction was recorded.