Drunken scenic drive ends in spectacular crash

A southside magistrate has blasted a man who demolished a set of traffic lights after setting out on a drunken trip to a lookout.

He had never held a licence and was more than twice the legal blood alcohol limit, but that didn’t stop Andy James Junior Nonu from hopping in a car with his mates for a drive up Mt Coot-tha.

But the drunken jaunt ended abruptly on Ipswich Rd in Moorooka when Nonu crashed into traffic lights, Holland Park Magistrates Court has heard.

The impact of the crash was so great the lights fell over, blocking one lane of the road.

Nonu copped a stinging blast from Magistrate Simon Young, who said he dealt with a handful of serious drink drive offenders every day.

“You don’t have a right to get into a car intoxicated and unlicensed and just think you’re going to drive to the top of Mt Coot-tha,’’ a furious Mr Young told him.

“Mr Nonu, if you have such a serious problem with alcohol in your life, given your age, you need to deal with it now because you may well end up killing someone.

“You have no room to manoeuvre. This is your first and only warning.’’

The court heard Nonu and his mates went for the ill-fated scenic drive, starting in Ipswich, on May 17 but came to a dramatic stop at the intersection of Durack St and Ipswich Rd about 4am.

The impact caused significant damage to their car and thousands in damage to the traffic lights.

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Mr Young said the seriousness of the incident meant he had to hand down a penalty that would act as both a personal deterrent and a deterrent to other foolish young drivers.

He disqualified Nonu from driving for six months for driving with a middle range blood alcohol reading.

Mr Young also disqualified Nonu for three months for driving while unlicensed, and imposed a further three months’ disqualification for driving without due care and attention.

Convictions were recorded for all three offences and Nonu was fined $2500.

Nonu, who grinned to a friend as the pair left the court, pleaded guilty to all three charges.