Daniel Thomas Piggott in Coffs Harbour court after drug driving smash
The mining worker on “good money” had passengers on board when he smashed into another car trapping the driver - it was his fourth drug driving offence.
Coffs Harbour
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A mining construction worker coming down from drugs taken the night before, swerved onto the wrong side of the road and smashed into another car, trapping the driver, a court has heard.
It is the fourth time Daniel Thomas Piggott has been done for driving under the influence of drugs.
Coffs Harbour Local Court heard that Piggott had taken methamphetamine on the afternoon of November 3 and was driving the next day in what his lawyer Todd Ritchie described as a depressive state - “he was coming down”.
The 29-year-old from Raleigh, a small town south of Coffs Harbour, had two passengers in his car when it swerved and hit another car which crashed into an embankment, trapping the driver, it was outlined in court on Wednesday, August 11.
The vehicle driven by Piggott came to rest 20 metres away and, according to Magistrate Julia Virgo, it was purely a “stroke of good luck” that nobody was more seriously injured.
Piggott is employed in mining construction in Brisbane on a fly-in-fly-out basis and is on “good money”, Mr Ritchie told the court, making approximately $4500 a fortnight.
Piggott is being treated by a psychologist and has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the court heard.
His prescription for Ritalin, which he has been prescribed to help treat the disorder, had run out at the time of the incident, his lawyer told the court.
Mr Ritchie told the court his client is “not taking drugs now” and his fly-in-fly-out work has helped to keep him away from negative influences in the Coffs Harbour area.
He was convicted for ‘drive vehicle under influence of drugs - 2nd+offence’ and disqualified from driving for two years from August 11 and sentenced to an 18-month intensive corrections order in the community.
As part of the order he must abstain from drugs and seek counselling for his addiction.
Piggott was also fined $1500.
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