Names and shamed: 10 of North Qld’s drunk drivers caught
Drink driving is one of the major killers on Queensland roads. By naming and shaming offenders who are proven guilty of driving offences in court the Townsville Bulletin aims to keep our region’s roads safer.
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On average, 55 people are killed and 550 are seriously injured each year on Queensland roads as a result of drink driving.
Drink driving is one of the major killers on Queensland roads.
In response to this, the Queensland Government has announced a number of drink driving reforms that will be rolled out by the end of 2021.
By naming and shaming offenders who are proven guilty of driving offences in court the Townsville Bulletin aims to keep our region’s roads safer by discouraging drivers from getting behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Sports star busted three-times over limit
Former Townsville Blackhawks captain Andrew Niemoeller was caught drink-driving three times over the legal limit.
According to court documents, Niemoeller was driving along Golf Links Drive in Kirwan on February 16, when he was seen by a police officer about 12.29am.
Niemoeller returned a 0.152 blood alcohol concentration reading.
He was fined $1200 and disqualified from driving for nine months.
Hooning lands drink driving punishment
A drunk man behind the wheel stuck up his middle finger to two people who had to run out of the way to avoid being hit by his car, before crashing into a parked car and fleeing the scene of the wreckage.
Two even had to run out of the way to avoid being hit by his car as he circled a roundabout, with Shepherd giving them the finger.
“He’s had the audacity while he’s driving dangerously and intoxicated to stick his middle finger up to innocent witnesses,” police prosecutor Subarna Raut told Townsville Magistrates Court.
Shepherd continued to speed, do burnouts and fishtails before eventually crashing into a parked car in Charles St, leaving the scene without providing his details. He produced a blood alcohol concentration reading of 0.178.
Mr Raut told the court the 30-year-old’s past was littered with irresponsible driving.
Explosives company manager blows over
An operations manager of a global explosives company who blew over the morning after his 50th birthday party has escaped with a small fine and the minimum period of disqualification when he appeared in the Ingham Magistrates Court.
Bloodshot eyes and the aroma of alcohol had given him away, police prosecutor Cody Rowe said.
Magistrate John Smith imposed a $450 fine and a one-month disqualification period.
A conviction was recorded.
Man pleas for work licence after 30 beer binge
A Crystal Creek man who downed 30 beers the day before his arrest have been granted work licences.
Building labourer Larry James Jones pleaded guilty to blowing over the general alcohol limit.
Jones said he would lose his house and his property if he lost his driving licence as he worked primarily in Townsville.
Sgt Madsen said that the accused had a good traffic record and did not oppose the application.
Jones was convicted, fined $600 and disqualified from driving for 3 months.
The work license was issued to work Monday to Saturday between the hours of 7am and 7pm.
Drunken harvester joy ride slammed
An Ayr apprentice who took a cane harvester for a drunken joy ride down a main street in town will be without a licence for six months.
Magistrate Ross Mack questioned whether Brody James Stephens was “challenged or retarded” when he sentenced the 19-year-old for the “recklessly stupid” act which occurred during drinks after work.
Stephens pleaded guilty to one count of drive under the influence of liquor – type two vehicle related offence in Ayr Magistrates Court.
The court heard police received information about 10.40pm, April 3 that a cane harvester was being driven down MacMillan St and that the driver behind the wheel was intoxicated.
Police Prosecutor Sergeant Tim Madsen said Stephens recorded a blood-alcohol reading of 0.168 per cent and made admissions to consuming liquor.
Stephens was fined $1000 and disqualified from driving for six months. Convictions were recorded.
Drunk man blinds Bruce Hwy drivers
A man who recorded three times the legal limit was found covered in his own vomit on the side of the Bruce Highway, with his high beams blinding oncoming motorists, a court has heard.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Emma Myors told the court about 11.42pm on January 17, police found a vehicle about 1.5m off the Bruce Highway at Battery Creek, north of Bowen.
Police observed the vehicle with its high beam lights “blinding” oncoming traffic, hazard lights on and keys laying on the ground.
Deambrosis was found leaning on the tray of his ute over his own vomit, with more on his chest and shoulders, Sgt Myors said.
Deambrosis was recorded with a BAC of 0.164.
Deambrosis was fined $1100. He was disqualified from driving for 8 months, with conviction recorded.
Four-times over limit in peak traffic
A man who blew nearly four times the legal limit after driving in peak hour traffic earlier this year has faced court on a string of charges.
The court heard that at 7.10am on January 17, 2020 Boyd was intercepted by police on Riverway Drive in Townsville.
Police recall smelling liquor on Boyd’s breath and a slur in his speech prompted them to conduct a roadside breath test.
The test returned a blood-alcohol reading of 0.193 per cent as a police prosecutor described the conditions Boyd would have been driving in.
Magistrate Peter Smid fined Boyd $1200 and suspended him from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for 12 months for driving under the influence of liquor.
Further fines totalling $1300 followed for all remaining offences including $200 for unlicensed driving, $300 for unregistered, $500 for uninsured and $300 for failing to attach a registration label so visible from the outside. Convictions were recorded.
Dad gets behind wheel after 10 stubbies
A Charters Towers father of three polished off 10 stubbies before making the decision to get behind the wheel, a court heard.
The court heard on December 6, 2019 at 11.53pm Fountain was intercepted by police who were conducting mobile patrols in Charters Towers.
He made admissions to them prior to a breath test taking place that he had consumed ten 330ml bottles of beer before making the drive home.
Fountain blew 0.094 and was automatically suspended from driving for 24 hours.
“The last submission on your traffic history for this type of offending was in 2008, 12 years ago, so for the purpose of sentencing today I am going to disregard that given the length of time,” Magistrate Howard Osborne said.
Mr Fountain was convicted, fined $500 and disqualified from driving for 3 months.
Water provides no escape for drunk skipper
A skipper has narrowly avoided losing his drivers licence after pleading guilty to drink driving while skippering a boat at Upstart Bay.
Saunders pleaded guilty to one count of did drive over the general alcohol limit but not over the middle alcohol limit when he appeared in Ayr Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The court heard Saunders had been drinking the night before at a local hotel until midnight and had consumed a beer while showing a female passenger around the area.
He was travelling back to Molongle Creek when he was intercepted.
Saunders was fined $450. A conviction was recorded.
Smoking lapse during vodka binge earns driving ban
Tony Francis Naughton of Ingham pleaded guilty to recording a blood alcohol reading of 0.112 on Townsville Road at 2.50am on January 22.
Police prosecutor Cody Rowe said Naughton told police that he was driving to the BP service station to buy cigarettes after consuming about four vodka drinks.
He noted that there was a juvenile passenger in the defendant’s vehicle at the time.
“It was a stupid decision,” Naughton told the court. “I had recently given up cigarettes.”
He was convicted, fined $700 and disqualified from driving for seven months.
Another man, meanwhile, who drove under the influence of alcohol to a store to buy milk said getting pinched was down to “bad luck”.
Joshua Allen Rick Krisanksi, an unemployed banana picker from Halifax, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and driving on a suspended licence after he was stopped on Macrossan Street in Halifax at 8.30am on January 4.
Mr Smith noted that the defendant had a history of driving offences, including drug driving.
“It’s not bad luck because if you’re not driving you don’t get caught,” Mr Smith said.
Krisanksi was convicted, fined $750 and disqualified from driving for six months.
Originally published as Names and shamed: 10 of North Qld’s drunk drivers caught