Dhammika Hikkaduwa: Caringbah engineer sentenced for high range drink driving at O’Riordan St, Mascot

An aircraft engineer who was busted driving over six times the legal limit narrowly avoided a full-time jail sentence after he fell out of his car and onto a major Sydney road.

Hikkaduwa was sentenced at Downing Local Court. Picture: Nikki Short

An aircraft engineer was busted driving six times over the legal limit after he fell out of his car at a time when many Sydneysiders would be travelling to work.

Caringbah man Dhammika Hikkaduwa, 52, fronted Downing Local Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to high-range drink driving.

The 52-year-old father made the fateful decision to get behind the wheel of a car while still feeling the effects of a night of heavy drinking on the morning of March 13.

Dhammika Hikkaduwa leaving Downing Centre Local Court.

Police facts state a witness spotted Hikkaduwa after he heard a “number of vehicle horns honking” on O’Riordan St, Mascot, just before 7am.

The witness then saw the driver’s door of Hikkaduwa’s Mitsubishi open before spotting the engineer “fall from the driver’s seat onto the ground,” police facts state.

A court heard Hikkaduwa’s car rolled slowly forwarded before it “wedged” against a curb.

According to court documents, the witness initially believed Hikkaduwa was suffering a medical episode, however when he approached the man he could smell booze and heard him slurring his words.

The witness moved Hikkaduwa onto a footpath until police arrived. Officers took him to the station where Hikkaduwa returned a reading of 0.315 — over six times the legal limit, the court heard.

“(He told officers) he had consumed three to four “self poured glasses” of vodka between the hours of 6pm and midnight while having a curry for dinner,” police facts state.

He was sentenced at the Downing Centre. Picture: Nikki Short

In court defence lawyer Ahmad Faraj said although the matter was “extremely serious”, his client should not receive a full-time jail sentence.

The court heard Faraj, whose wife and son were living in Sri Lanka at the time, was feeling lonely and “made a silly decision” to get behind the wheel of car.

Mr Faraj also said his client had no criminal history and was very remorseful.

Looking at Hikkaduwa’s unblemished record, Magistrate Theo Tsavdaris described the case as “an aberration of enormous proportions”.

He said Hikkaduwa’s belief that he woken without any impairment after a night of heavy drinking “(couldn’t be) further from the truth”.

Mr Tsavdaris convicted Hikkaduwa and sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment to be served in the community be means of an intensive corrections order (ICO).