L-plater extreme speedster Tarelle Power-Williams jailed and slapped with indefinite driving ban

An extreme speedster who admitted to police he was “driving like a d***head” after he was clocked at 253km/h has been slapped with a jail term and indefinite driving ban.

An extreme speedster clocked at 253km/h and dubbed likely the “most dangerous person in the state for the minutes that he was driving”, has been disqualified from driving indefinitely.

Tarelle Lewis Charles Power-Williams, 20, was on his L-plates when he was detected speeding at 253km/h in the 110km/h zone on the North-South Motorway at Waterloo Corner on January 30 in an unregistered black Holden ute.
As a learner driver, he was only permitted to be driving at 100km/h.

The court heard he was found 2km further along the road because his gearbox blew up from over revving, admitting to police he was “driving like a d***head”.

He was jailed in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday, for continuing his lifestyle of crime and joy-riding, despite telling a psychologist he was done with it.

Tarelle Power-Williams was jailed for over a year for the offending. Picture: Supplied (Facebook/Instagram)

Tarelle Power-Williams was clocked at 253km/h on the North-South Motorway. Picture: Supplied (Facebook/Instagram)

Power-Williams was also sentenced for an earlier extreme speed where he drove dangerously for 18 minutes through the northern suburbs, including through red lights on the wrong side of the road, as well as petrol theft, escaping a police pursuit and driving unregistered.

Magistrate Ben Sale previously said Power-Williams’ appeared to have “no regard for his safety or anybody else’s safety” and his driving included aggressively moving across three lanes of peak-hour traffic at speed.

“On the occasions that he was driving in the fashions I’ve heard, he was probably the most dangerous person in the state for the minutes that he was driving.”

“This is not just being, as he has described it – a d***head – but this seems to be offending which often only ends up in one way if he keeps doing it – that he will kill himself or he will kill somebody else.”

The black Holden ute was located 2km further along after the gearbox blew up. Picture: SA Police

Barossa patrols clocked the black Holden ute on the North-South Motorway. Picture: SA Police

Tarelle Lewis Charles Power-Williams, 20, also pleaded guilty in June to commercial drug trafficking and attempted trafficking.

On Thursday, Mr Sale said a psychological report indicated Power-Williams had a dysfunctional upbringing and abused drugs and alcohol from a young age.

The court heard Power-Williams, a promising junior footballer and father-of-two, inherited traits from his difficult childhood, including recklessness, immaturity and poor social skills.

“The way you speak about jail is not the way which one would normally expect to hear a 20-year-old speak about it, you aren’t scared of it,” Mr Sale said.

Mr Sale said Power-Williams was yet to match his actions with words, having told a psychologist 18-months ago he was through with his former lifestyle of crime and joy-riding.

Mr Sale sentenced Power-Williams to one year and four months jail, with a non-parole period of seven months.

The sentence was backdated to June 15.

After being urged by the prosecution, Mr Sale also disqualified Power-Williams from driving until further order, with a minimum period of six years.

Originally published as L-plater extreme speedster Tarelle Power-Williams jailed and slapped with indefinite driving ban