Carlos Marquez: Liverpool man drank 10 schooners of beer before driving, crashing car

A magistrate has issued a stern warning to a 54-year old P-plater after he was arrested for drinking 10 beers at a popular western Sydney pub before crashing his car.

A Liverpool man has appeared before court after a high-range drink driving offence which ended when he crashed into another car, injuring the driver’s neck.

Carlos Marquez, 54, drank 10 schooners at the Railway Hotel in Liverpool between 1.00pm and 7.50pm on July 23, before getting into his car and crashing it 10 minutes later on Copeland Street.

He pleaded guilty to the high-range drink driving charge in Liverpool Local Court on Monday, his first offence.

According to agreed facts tendered to court, Marquez was slurring his words, unable to stand or walk, with bloodshot eyes, smelling of alcohol when police arrived at the scene of the crash.

He was licensed as a P2 driver at the time.

Carlos Marquez, 54, outside Liverpool Local Court on September 19, 2022. Picture: Paul Brescia

After being taken to a police station, he gave a breath test reading of 0.188.

The other driver, while sustaining some minor injuries to her neck, did not have any ongoing issues, the court heard.

Magistrate Mark Whelan told the court it could have easily ended in tragedy, adding that more than 270 people died on NSW roads in the last year.

“Consumption of alcohol and drugs is a significant factor,” Mr Whelan said.

“The community has an expectation that people on the road are not affected by alcohol or drugs. They want people to be safe.

“You are extremely lucky that person wasn’t killed, or yourself.”

Mr Whelan told Marquez more than 270 people died on NSW roads in the past year.

His lawyer, Tyson Brown, told the court it had been a particularly tough 18 months for Marquez, including the passing of family members.

He added that his client had not consumed alcohol since the crash, paid off the damage to the other driver in full, had taken full responsibility for his actions, and completed both a traffic offenders program and a behavioural change program.

When sentencing Marquez, Mr Whelan said he did not believe time in prison would be appropriate, noting the positive changes the Liverpool man had made in his life since the drink driving offence.

Marquez was given an 18 month community corrections order, his licence disqualified for nine months — backdated to July 23 — and given a mandatory interlock order for 24 months.

“You have made very good choices since this happened,” Mr Whelan said.

“I hope this is a wake up call.”