Will Mcauliffe: Drink driver crashed into Dubbo family’s home
A cancer patient who crashed into a water main and a master bedroom while he was drunk had a history of ‘driving like a hoon’, a court has heard.
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A drink driver who crashed into a Dubbo family’s bedroom has been spared time behind bars after a court heard he was a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy.
William Mcauliffe pleaded guilty to one count of high range drink driving when he faced Dubbo Local Court on Wednesday.
In court documents police said the 28-year-old Dubbo man was blind drunk when he lost control of a white Ford Falcon on Oakmont Avenue in September last year.
After mounting a kerb and crashing into a water main, police said Mcauliffe ploughed into a garden bed and the master bedroom of a family home.
The family who resided at the home were in the living room watching a movie when Mcauliffe crashed, police said.
When the homeowner came out to see what had happened, police said Mcauliffe ignored him and lit a cigarette.
Police arrived and a test of Mcauliffe’s breath revealed a reading of .164 — which showed more than three times the legal limit of alcohol was in his blood when he crashed.
Mcauliffe told police he had been at his bosses house drinking vodka, whisky and beer in the lead up to the crash.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of high range drink driving and was supported by his mother in court.
The court heard Mcauliffe was undergoing chemotherapy after a cancer diagnosis and magistrate Gary Wilson said he was sympathetic.
However, magistrate Wilson said Mcauliffe had a history of “driving like a hoon”.
“It’s only good luck no one was killed, let alone injured,” magistrate Wilson said.
“Your record does not read good, to say the least. It’s just not your average traffic record that’s for sure.”
Magistrate Wilson said Mcauliffe was lucky not to be going to jail.
He was sentenced to a community corrections order for 18 months, fined $1000 and disqualified from driving for three months.
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