Coonabarabran crash: Drink driving dad sentenced
A dad, who had cannabis, alcohol and Tramadol in his system when he flipped his car killing his son, told police he drank a bottle of beer while waiting for emergency services to arrive.
Dubbo News
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A serial drink driver has been jailed for causing the death of his young son in Central NSW.
Before the 47-year-old man got behind the wheel, he drank three schooners within 30 minutes at the Coonabarabran Hotel on January 22 last year.
The man’s son had been swimming at the nearby All Travellers Lodge Motor Inn before he asked to be taken motorbike riding at his father’s farm.
While the father and son were en route to farm, the vehicle they were in neared a left-hand bend on the unsealed road, according to court documents.
No guideposts or speed limit signs were near the bend and the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, drove the car up a dirt embankment when it flipped and landed on the driver’s side.
After the man removed his son’s body from the car, he put a black towel over the boy’s body and left the crash site to find mobile phone reception and call for help.
Emergency services crews arrived shortly after 8pm before the man had returned.
A paramedic said the man smelt like alcohol, was not wearing a shirt and had blood on his neck, hands and jeans.
When police interviewed the man, he said after the crash he drank a bottle of Carlton Draught, which was “lying around”.
Tests revealed the man recorded a 0.149 blood alcohol reading when he crashed the car.
Traces of cannabis and the painkiller Tramadol were also found in his body, court documents reveal.
Crime scene investigators found the boy did not have a seatbelt on.
The man pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving occasioning death.
Dubbo District Court Judge Nanette Williams said the man was previously convicted of two high-range drink driving offences in 1999 and 2009.
Judge Williams said he had “well documented mental health and alcohol issues”, which included major depressive disorder.
She said the man was remorseful and still had the support of boy’s mother, who he remains separated from.
The man was jailed for two year and six months, with a non-parole period of 14 months imposed.