Hunter’s drink drivers exposed: Lawyers, CEO’s, mums and dads who got caught
In the past year, a staggering amount of drivers across the Hunter have been caught getting behind the wheel intoxicated. Read about some of the shocking stories of drunk drivers here.
Newcastle
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In a sad reality, local courts across NSW are constantly inundated with drink drivers — some are repeat offenders.
In the past year, a staggering amount of drivers across the Hunter have been sentenced for getting behind the wheel intoxicated.
These are some of the shocking stories of the region’s drink drivers, from a drunken lawyer rolling his car with his kids inside; a mining company CEO nearly running down an elderly pedestrian and mums picking up their kids from school.
KATHERINE MURPHY
Convicted
This Newcastle mum was slurring and staggering when police picked her up.
She had attempted to drive off after reversing across Fern St, Islington into a driveway on January 23 before crashing into a fence post.
Her four-year-old son was in the car and suffered a small lump and lacerations to his forehead.
Ms Murphy was breath tested at more than four times the legal limit, at 0.222. She was charged with high range PCA.
A court heard the Islington mother was “embarrassed” and “ashamed” of her actions.
She was slapped with a 12 month intensive corrections order (ICO) — a jail sentence served within the community — disqualified from driving for six months and fined $1000.
ANDREW LLOYD
Convicted
Sydney beekeeping lawyer Andrew Robert Lloyd had to head to Toronto Local Court earlier this year after pleading guilty to two drink-driving charges, one of which saw his two kids injured when his car flipped.
In September last year, Mr Lloyd was nearly three times the legal limit when he flipped his Toyota Hilux on its roof near Dungog, after he lost control and travelled up an embankment.
His children were in the car and suffered minor injuries.
Just two months later, Mr Lloyd was again in hot water, when he was charged for high-range drink-driving while on his way back from Dungog to Sydney on the M1 at Morisset. He blew 0.187.
He told police he’d gone to Dan Murphy’s at Raymond Terrace and purchased a six pack of cider and drank no less than three of them before getting back on his bike to ride home.
And to make matters worse, Mr Lloyd was caught driving while his license was suspended in January.
Mr Lloyd was given an ICO and community corrections order (CCO), disqualified from driving for a total of 17 months, ordered to do 225 hours of community service and pay a $750 fine.
He did try to appeal the sentence but only ended up with decreased community service hours.
Mr Lloyd sprung to fame as a saviour of citysiders near Downing Centre Court when a swarm of bees was causing havoc in Sydney’s CBD in October last year.
CAROLINE THROWDEN
Convicted
A Port Stephens mum, originally jailed for being caught five times over the limit on a school run, had her sentence downgraded to an ICO on appeal.
Caroline Ashthore Throwden from Nelson Bay pleaded guilty after she blew .252 on May 11 last year, when she went to pick up her six-year-old daughter from school. Her two-year-old son was also in the car.
Court documents revealed staff at the school had alerted police and the 30-year-old was caught smelling strongly of alcohol, unsteady on her feet and had slurred speech.
The incident came just hours after she had her license disqualified for a prior low-range drink-drive offence in February and was placed on a good behaviour bond.
She was ordered to serve a nine-month ICO.
REINHOLD SCHMIDT
Convicted
A mining company CEO who was “late for a meeting” when he narrowly avoided hitting an elderly pedestrian at a crossing in his expensive convertible Porsche, claimed he’d had “a ripper of a night”.
Reinhold Hans Schmidt — who was CEO of Yancoal Australia at the time of the offence — pleaded guilty to high-range drink-driving and not giving way on a pedestrian crossing in Boolaroo in February.
Police facts stated they were dumbfounded by the 54-year-old’s “arrogant” response as to not wanting to stop because he was in a hurry to get to a meeting.
Mr Schmidt was breath tested and blew a positive reading of 0.189, nearly four times over the limit.
He told police the night before he was at Cyprus Lakes Golf Resort at Pokolbin and had consumed seven glasses of wine and champagne, as well as a glass of champagne for breakfast that morning.
He was sentenced to a two year CCO, disqualified from driving for six months and fined $300.
Mr Schmidt resigned suddenly from Yancoal Australia in March to pursue other “career opportunities”.
STEVIE-LEE BEAR
Pleaded guilty
In a tragic set of circumstances, a woman was in the driver’s seat when she crashed her vehicle, which killed a six-year-old child.
Stevie-Lee Bear told police she went to the bottle shop before going to get videos for her family, and took them to the Seaham Park playground.
She was drinking before and while at the park according to police facts.
But when she headed home, Ms Bear failed to negotiate a bend, crossed onto the wrong side of the road, ran down an embankment and slammed into a power pole.
Witnesses tried to help but sadly the six-year-old died at the scene.
Ms Bear pleaded guilty to aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death, while two charges of dangerous driving occasioning death and a high range PCA were withdrawn.
A negligent driving occasioning death charge is also offered as a backup offence.
The matter is down for sentence in Newcastle District Court in September.
BRETT TALBOT
Convicted
A Lake Macquarie father got behind the wheel nearly three times over the legal limit with his 12-year-old son in the car,.
Brett Neil Talbot, 51, admitted to police on July 27 last year, he had drank in excess of seven bourbon and cokes when he was picked up by police, just down the road from his Mirrabooka home.
“I’ve f****d up big time,” Mr Talbot said according to police facts.
Police facts detailed how Mr Talbot got out of his vehicle and appeared unsteady, had a red face, smelt of intoxicating liquor and had slurred speech. He returned a reading of 0.139.
Mr Talbot was given a 12-month CCO and six-month driving disqualification.
KATRINA BAKER
Convicted
A Newcastle mother was on the way to pick up her nine-year-old daughter from school, and was so drunk she smashed into a parked car in the 40 kilometre an hour school zone.
Katrina Baker, 40, returned a reading os 0.296, nearly six times the legal limit, in June last year near a Wallsend public school.
Police reports said Ms Baker could hardly stand up, her eyes bloodshot and speed slurred.
Newcastle Magistrate Robert Stone condemned the mother of two and said: “You were almost to the stage of having alcohol poisoning. This offence is serious and if you had a record, you’d be going straight to jail”.
She was handed down a nine month ICO, fined a thousand dollars and disqualified from driving for seven months.
KAYLA HOSKING
Convicted
A Port Stephens woman was slammed by a Hunter Magistrate after she was caught drink driving four times over the legal limit after crashing her vehicle into a drain on the side of a road.
Kayla Hosking was slapped with a 10 month ICO and disqualified from driving for nine months after she got behind the wheel intoxicated in January.
She told police she was at a friends house at Lemon Tree Passage and wanted to get some cigarettes at a nearby service station when she crashed into a drainage culvert at the BP service station in Salt Ash.
Magistrate Brett Shields said it was just “good luck” nothing worse had happened.
Ms Hosking returned a reading of 0.213.
Police noted her behaviour at the time was erratic, talkative one minute and crying the next.
PETER MCMANN
Convicted
A Port Stephens man was labelled a “menace” on the road when he was clocked by police at more than 80 kilometres an hour over the speed limit and intoxicated.
Peter McMann from Soldier’s Point was recorded at doing 163 km/h on April 11 at Bobs Farm and when pulled up by police he returned a positive breath test of 0.119.
Police facts stated the 51-year-old was “well affected” by alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and became increasingly hostile and derogatory towards police before they arrested and charged him.
Raymond Terrace Magistrate Brett Shields told Mr McMann “the fact someone wasn’t killed was just good luck.
The court heard he also had four drink driving offences since 1998, his most previous conviction in 2016.
Mr McMann was sentenced to a 14 month ICO, disqualified from driving for three years and fined $3300.
DELMA PIKE
Convicted
This driver was already disqualified from driving until 2031 when she was caught intoxicated behind the wheel.
Delma June Pike, 58, was seen by a member of the public swerving in her vehicle at Charlestown in February and when police caught up with her in the car park of a hotel, they noticed her vehicle had damage to it, consistent to a collision.
A police check found she was disqualified from driving for the next 11 years and blew 0.200, three times the legal limit.
Ms Pike was given a three year CCO, ordered to do 200 hours of community service and got an extra year on her driver disqualification.