Warnervale: Darren Stephen Hill, of Port Macquarie, pleads guilty to drink-driving death of 82yo Noel Nott

Heart-wrenching details have emerged for the first time about the death of an elderly man who was left stranded when his electric car went flat only to be struck by a drunk driver.

Darren Hill, 50, of Port Macquarie, killed Noel Nott, 82, on Sparks Rd at Halloran. (File image)

An elderly man was trying to flag down help after his electric car went flat on a relatively isolated Central Coast road when he was struck and killed by a drunk driver.

Details of the victim’s tragic death have emerged for the first time after the drunk driver pleaded guilty in Wyong Local Court on Tuesday.

Darren Stephen Hill, 50, of Port Macquarie, appeared via video link from custody where he pleaded guilty to aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death while intoxicated, refusing to provide a urine sample and possessing 3.2g of cannabis.

An agreed set of facts states another motorist and his passenger were so concerned about the manner of Hill’s driving they followed him for about three minutes about 7.30pm on October 2 last year.

The facts state the passenger filmed Hill’s car on his mobile phone as it swerved all over Sparks Rd before it struck a concrete barrier on the median strip and the witness pulled over to call police.

Sparks Rd Warnervale near the intersection of Jack Grant Ave. Picture: Google

A short time earlier 82-year-old Noel Nott had pulled over on Sparks Rd, near the turn off for Warnervale Airport, when his electric BMW hatchback ran out of charge.

Neither Mr Nott nor his passenger had a working phone so as his passenger set off to knock on the door of the nearest house, Mr Nott got out to try and flag down a passing motorist.

Hill faced Wyong Local Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty.

One motorist, a registered nurse, would later tell police she got the shock of her life when she saw Mr Nott’s outline emerge from the “pitch black” as he tried to flag her down from the “painted median lane”.

After she passed the nurse looked back in her rear view mirror and saw the car behind her “make a sudden manoeuvre and lose a headlight”.

“Suspecting that the deceased may have been hit by the vehicle, she u-turned and drove back to where the deceased was located,” the facts state.

“When driving back she noticed that the accused’s windscreen was smashed.”

She also noticed Mr Nott’s badly contorted body on the ground nearby.

Hill was taken to Wyong Police Station where

An autopsy would later confirm he died from “catastrophic injuries”.

Police arrived and found Hill still seated in his car with bloodshot eyes, smelling of alcohol and slurring his words.

He was taken to Wyong police station where he said “something came through my windscreen, and I pulled over. I did not have a crash.”

He provided a breath sample, which returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.173.

“A search of the accused’s vehicle revealed four empty bottles of 750ml Reserve Tawny Port, with one bottle almost empty,” the facts state.

“A backpack on the front passenger seat was found to be containing a wallet with the accused’s license and photo card. Within this backpack was a clear resealable bag with 3.2g of cannabis.”

When police explained he had been in a fatal collision, Hill reacted with disbelief and then became upset and was crying.

“The offender asked police to shoot him and requested that they ‘put me in a f...ing morgue mate right now. If I f...ing killed someone please do it’,” the facts state.

A blood sample was taken from the offender, however, he commenced to sob, yell and swear and refused to provide a urine sample.

He was adjourned to Gosford District Court on August 29 to fix a sentence date.