Westpac banker Igo Marariromba Job Whabira, 37, fronts Southport Magistrates Court for drink driving “mayhem”

A banker who drove over the limit at 150kmh then stopped dead at times on the highway has been admonished by a magistrate. Read about the “mayhem”

A banker “driving erratically” from Brisbane to the Gold Coast - going 150kmh at times and stopping dead at others - has faced a magistrate for causing highway “mayhem”.

Reedy Creek man Igo Whabira, 37, faced Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday, pleading guilty to drink driving, after being caught at three times the legal alcohol limit.

A court was told Whabira – a Westpac private associate banker – was attending a work function in Brisbane on September 3 when his wife called, urging he come home to help with their “unsettled child”.

Igo Whabira, 37, leaves Southport Magistrates Court. Picture: Gold Coast Bulletin

Police were called after a concerned member of the public witnessed Whabira driving “erratically” on the Pacific Motorway at Yatala.

Whabira was driving speeds of up to 150kmph and “causing mayhem” to other drivers by “frequently stopping in the middle of the road and overtaking drivers,” a court was told.

“At one point a truck driver had to swerve around the vehicle as it was stopped in the middle of a lane,” a police prosecutor told the court.

He was pulled over by police in Helensvale and recorded a blood alochol reading of .162 - three times over the legal limit.

Whabira told police at Coomera station his wife had called and urged him to come home to their 17-month-old child, who had “fallen ill after picking up an illness at daycare”.

Whabira’s lawyer told Magistrate Michelle Dooley he was “quite a qualified man” who held a bachelors degree in commerce from Deakin University, and an advanced certification in finance.

He has been a Westpac employee for over 12 years.

Igo Whabira is a private associate banker for Westpac. Picture: LinkedIn

She said he “deals with a network of high net-worth clients” in his current role.

Whabira has a history of alcohol abuse and self-medication after the cancer-related death of his father in Zimbambwe earlier this year, the court was told by his defence lawyer.

Magistrate Dooley said Whabira chose to get in his car and drive rather than order an Uber or taxi.

“The cirumstances of your offending, it seems you were causing quite a bit of mayhem on the road,” she told Whabira.

“It was a very dangerous position to be in on the motorway for you and other people.”

Whabira has been disqualified from holding or obtaining a license for nine months.

He was charged $950 and a traffic conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Westpac banker Igo Marariromba Job Whabira, 37, fronts Southport Magistrates Court for drink driving “mayhem”