Parnell Robin West crashes car while high-range drink driving

A young man crashed his Peugeot hatchback and then told police he “had some beers in the back and enjoyed those” afterwards before lobbing the empty bottles into the bush “as far as I could”.

High-range drink driving on the Princes Highway, a P-plater crashed his car, sending nearby residents who heard the sound of impact running to the Jaspers Brush scene.

Parnell Robin West was the driver and sole occupant of the Peugeot hatch when he crashed into a railing while drunk.

In court, Magistrate Lisa Viney had some strong words for the 25-year-old, saying “you got behind the wheel and put your life at risk, as well as every other motorist on the road”.

It was in the dark of the night on February 17, when West got behind the wheel after several drinks and failed to turn off the highway onto Strongs Road, where he lives, crashing at the T-intersection.

A resident who lives 600m from the corner, ran to the scene and located West still behind the wheel of the car.

Parnell West was on his P-plates when he got behind the wheel drunk, crashing into a guard rail on the Princes Highway at Jaspers Brush, not far from his home. Picture: Facebook

He exited the vehicle a short time later, and started making calls to tow the vehicle from the scene.

But police were already on the way, with witnesses calling them to the scene believing West was intoxicated.

When asked by officers if he had been drinking alcohol, West said “since the incident, yes. I had some beers in the back and enjoyed those”, according to court documents.

A short time later, when asked where the empty beer bottles were, West said he “got rid of it”, and continued to tell police “I lobbed the bottle, bottle of bourbon as far as I could”.

According to police facts, a witness on the scene did not see West consume anything to drink at the scene following the crash.

West was taken to Shoalhaven Hospital and later charged with high-range drink driving, which he pleaded guilty to in Nowra Local Court.

Magistrate Viney said there was “no other alternative than a jail sentence” for his crime, however she sentenced him by way of a community corrections order for nine months, to be served in the community.

West will also be off the road for six months, has to pay $1000 in fines and will have an interlock device fitted to his car for two years.