Thomas Patfield: Bronte tradie flips car during drink driving crash involving mobile phone

A lawyer for a drink driving tradie who flipped his car and hit an Audi in Sydney’s eastern suburbs told a court his client was only travelling 10km/h at the time. But the magistrate was not convinced.

A tradie from Sydney’s eastern suburbs drank five schooners before getting behind the wheel and crashing his car, which flipped onto its side and left him stuck, a court has heard.

Thomas Patfield picked up his phone to change the music in his Toyota Prada when he crashed into a parked Audi about 6:40pm on August 14, according to agreed facts tendered to Waverley Local Court.

Patfield’s car rolled onto its side, forcing the 30-year-old Bronte man to get stuck and have to climb out of the passenger side window.

He had been driving east on Torrington Rd in Maroubra at the time and later told police he’d had five schooners of beer at Coach and Horses hotel in Randwick over three hours.

Police noticed a bloodshot-eyed Patfield had impaired speech and slurred words, and he returned a mid-range positive breath test of 0.124.

Patfield’s lawyer, Scott Corish, told the court Patfield had been with a friend to “drink and talk” because he was grieving, which was a “pretty Australian thing to do”.

Thomas Patfield pleaded guilty to drink driving.

Patfield’s lawyer, Scott Corish, told the court Patfield grew up in Toowoomba and was “family orientated”

Mr Corish said his client had made contact with the Audi, which “won’t be cheap”, while travelling at a low speed of about 10km/h.

Magistrate Clare Farnan responded: “To flip a car, you can’t do it at 10km/hr.”

“His good sense after a few drinks is obviously not there,” Magistrate Farnan said.

“0.124 is well into the mid range. It’s not clear if the drink driving or using the mobile phone caused the crash.

“He’s a relatively young man. His (criminal) record is quite good.”

Magistrate Farnan convicted Patfield of drink driving and using a mobile phone while driving, offences he had pleaded guilty to.

She sentenced him to a six-month community corrections order, fined him $1400, disqualified his licence for “the mandatory period” with a requirement to have an interlock device once that expires.