Martin Kellahan in Coffs Harbour court for Woolgoolga drink drive smash

The fruit picker supervisor, turned company director, was more than four times the limit after celebrating a new contract when he got behind the wheel the court heard.

In what the magistrate described as possibly the most serious drink driving matter he has ever seen; a fruit picker supervisor turned company director took to the wheel when he was more than four times the limit.

Martin John Kellahan was before Magistrate Ian Rodgers in Coffs Harbour local court on Monday to face charges in relation to a smash in Woolgoolga on the evening of September 21 last year that left another driver in hospital.

His lawyer told the court Mr Kellahan had gone from being a fruit picker supervisor to the director of his own company in a matter of months and, for the first time in many years, felt like he was “on top of the world”.

The court heard he went over to a business associate’s house in Woolgoolga to celebrate securing a new contract and “as night fell, so too did his vigilance”.

The 49-year-old drank too much and panicked, fearing “the wrath of his partner” so he decided to drive home to Mullaway along the Solitary Islands Way in a northerly direction.

His lawyer told the court that as he was driving along, his phone fell onto the floor and he bent down to retrieve it and veered into oncoming traffic and hit another car injuring the driver.

Documenting the details of the night Mr Rodgers told the court Kellahan swerved into oncoming traffic on Solitary Islands Way between the intersection of Sunset Ave and Newmans Road, colliding with another car seriously injuring the driver who later required surgery to the ligaments in her knee.

The injuries impacted her ability to work but Mr Rodgers was “not sure of the ongoing impacts”.

Kellahan was breath tested and blew 0.214.

Mr Rodgers recognised there has been a significant gap in offending in Kellahan’s driving record with a “previous matter of this nature” back in 1999 and that he was otherwise a “person of very good character”.

But in relation to his actions that night Mr Rodgers said Kellahan had clearly “abandoned his responsibilities” and added that it “might be the most serious drink driving matter I have seen.”

For the High Range drink driving Kellahan was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment but the matter adjourned for six weeks for him to be assessed for home detention.

In relation to the charge of drive recklessly/furiously or speed/manner dangerous (first offence) he was convicted and fined $1500.

He was disqualified from holding a driver’s/rider’s licence for three years from May 9.