Richard Forsyth, 53, faces Taree court after high-range drink driving crash

A former Taree cabbie was so drunk when he got behind the wheel he crashed into a barrier and was found trying to steer his damaged vehicle after limping it into a club carpark.

The damaged Camry ended up in the Taree Leagues Club carpark. Picture: Facebook

A former Taree taxi driver was so drunk when he got behind the wheel he crashed into a barrier and was found trying to steer his damaged vehicle after limping it into a club carpark.

Several motorists had called the police when they noticed Richard Forsyth driving erratically about 5.30pm on February 26.

The 53-year-old man was driving a white Toyota Camry east along Cowper St when he smashed into the barrier, Taree Local Court documents state.

He kept on driving and police caught up with him in the Taree Leagues Club carpark about 5.45pm.

Officers observed Forsyth “attempting to drive”, but said he “was unable to steer due to the damage” to the Toyota.

Asked to get out of the vehicle, Forsyth was unsteady on his feet and ended up blowing 0.193 during a roadside test – almost four times the legal alcohol limit for driving.

Richard Forsyth leaves Taree Local Court.

Police also found cannabis in a cigarette packet. When he was asked what the substance was, Forsyth replied: “You know what it is, it is cannabis. It helps me sleep.”

He was arrested and taken to the police station he blew 0.177 on a follow-up test.

Forsyth pleaded guilty to high-range drink driving and possessing a prohibited drug when he faced the local court on Monday.

His lawyer Merrick Spicer told the court Forsyth was “deeply embarrassed” and his client had been abstaining from alcohol.

Forsyth was previously employed as a cab driver and most recently a disability support worker. The jobs depended on him having a licence, but his “employment prospects are markedly reduced” due to the offending, the court heard.

Mr Spicer told the court his client had burnt his finger while trying to light a cigarette at the time of the incident.

Magistrate Allison Hawkins did not put much weight on that submission and pointed out several motorists alerted police to Forsyth’s manner of driving.

The court also heard he had been convicted of low-range drink driving about 20 years ago and had racked up seven speeding fines in the last two years.

Forsyth was convicted and fined $625, placed on a 12-month community release order and disqualified from driving for six months.

Once back on the road, he will have to use an alcohol interlock device in his vehicle for two years.