Full list: 19 of Queensland’s most shocking drink drivers exposed in court
A footy legend, top solicitor, priest and even an ex-cop – these are Queensland’s worst drink drivers. See the full list.
Sports stars, high-profile solicitors, former police officers and priests are among those whop have been busted drink driving on Queensland roads this year, some at more than four times the legal limit.
It comes on the back of shocking statistics showing one in six Queensland motorists have admitted to drink-driving, while more than half say they have taken a different route home to avoid roadside testing.
RACQ’s 2025 Annual Road Safety Survey has revealed the disturbing surge in dangerous driver behaviour as drink and drug driving remerge as a cultural problem.
Here are some of the drink drivers who have been busted in recent months.
CONVICTION RECORDED
Isabelle Beaudet-Gaul
Brisbane real estate worker Isabelle Beaudet-Gaul has been caught drink driving after her boyfriend attracted attention by yelling out their car window on the Sunshine Coast.
She pleaded guilty at Maroochydore Magistrates Court to mid-range drink driving.
The court heard Beaudet-Gaul, who was driving a white Ford Ranger, aroused public suspicion as her boyfriend who was in the passenger seat was yelling from the window together with a ladder dragging from the vehicle.
The provisional driver was breath tested with a reading of 0.116 returned.
Beaudet-Gaul, who represented herself, told the court she felt shame and was incredibly sorry for her mistake.
She was fined $600 and disqualified from driving for three months.
Allan Burns
Allan James Burns who wore a “drink responsibly” shirt in court has admitted to drink driving while his licence was suspended.
He pleaded guilty at Ingham Magistrates Court to driving under the influence of alcohol, driving over the middle-alcohol limit whilst on a suspended licence and possessing a knife in a public place.
The court heard police found his breath test reading to be 0.156, three times of the legal limit after he had almost a dozen Great Northern beers.
Police also found a knife with a 10cm-long blade in Burns’ pocket.
He was processed and released, but he was caught drink-driving again two hours later.
Mr Burke said Burns was processed, banned from driving and released before he was again caught drink driving two hours later.
Burns was fined $2200 and disqualified from driving for a total of two years and nine months.
David Coleman
Little Mountain builder’s labourer David Andrew Coleman has been found drunk in a heavily damaged vehicle stopped in the middle of the Sunshine Motorway.
He pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of a liquor at Maroochydore Magistrates Court.
The court heard police spotted his damaged car facing westbound on the motorway at Mountain Creek about 11.30pm on April 24, with officers finding him “clearly intoxicated” and struggling to speak to them.
His breath test returned a reading of 0.173, three times of the legal 0.05 limit.
The self-represented man told the court he was at an Anzac Day pre-gathering and decided to leave and try to sleep in his car.
He was fined $1100 and was disqualified from driving for seven months.
Jack Coleman
Gympie civil construction worker Jack Robert Coleman has been spotted performing a fishtail when he was almost four times the legal blood alcohol limit.
He pleaded guilty at Maroochydore Magistrates Court to driving under the influence and driving without due care.
The court heard Coleman, who was driving a white ute, revved his engine and accelerated heavily before he lost traction as he turned and skidded through the corner, narrowly missing a collision with another vehicle on November 22 last year.
He returned a reading of 0.191 following his boozy intercept.
The court was told he completed the Queensland Traffic Offenders Program and had asked his wife and his workmate for a lift as he was working on a project in Brisbane.
Coleman was fined $1500 and was disqualified from driving for nine months.
Shelley Cronau
Former wheelchair basketball star and Paralympian Shelley Cronau has been busted with drink driving twice in one month.
Ms Cronau pleaded guilty to two charges of drink driving in Southport Magistrates Court.
The court heard she crashed her grey Holden vehicle into a centre median strip on Days Road, Upper Coomera, about 8.50pm on January 5 last year.
Around two weeks earlier, she was caught “slurring her words” when she was pulled over by police at a nearby McDonald’s.
Her breath test returned a reading of 0.216, more than four times the legal limit.
The court was told she began drinking after retiring from her basketball career, but she had given up since the charges were laid.
Cronau was ordered to pay $1900 in fines and had her licence suspended for two years.
John Dametto
Hinchinbrook cane farmer and harvesting contractor John Dametto who had an “excellent traffic history” has been drink-driving on a notorious section of the Bruce Highway.
He pleaded guilty to the charge in Ingham Magistrates Court.
The court heard that he was randomly intercepted by police at Gairloch, north of Ingham, when his breath test returned a reading of 0.084, higher than the legal 0.05 limit.
Dametto told the court he made a mistake that day with Magistrate Cathy McLennan describing the 66 years old had an excellent traffic history.
He was fined $700 and banned from driving for one month.
Andrew Johnson
Hamilton Island executive chef Andrew Johnson has driven a golf buggy while over the alcohol limit.
He pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of liquor in Proserpine Magistrates Court.
The court heard he was pulled over on May 10 at Melaleuca Drive on Hamilton Island when he told police he had eight ciders the night before.
His breath testing returned a reading of 0.189, nearly four times of the legal limit.
The court was told he could not reliably recall how much alcohol he had consumed but he was remorseful, completing the Queensland Traffic Offenders Program.
He was fined $1100 and disqualified from holding a licence for seven months.
Bradley Johnson
Former security guard Bradley Lex Johnson has been busted with a 30cm knife in his pants when he was drunk in his car.
He pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court to one count of drink driving and one count of possessing a knife in a public place.
The court heard that police were called to Marine Court in Urangan where they stopped Johnson and asked him for a breath test which turned out to be positive.
He admitted to police that he had a knife after his partner threatened to have about 15 people coming after him.
When he did another breath test at the Hervey Bay Police Station, the reading returned to be 0.189, almost four times the legal limit.
The court was told he lost his job as a result of the charges.
Johnson was fined $1600 and was disqualified from driving for nine months.
Damien McGrath
North Queensland priest Damien McGrath who had “absolutely excellent” traffic history has been caught drink driving.
He pleaded guilty in Ingham Magistrates Court to driving over the general alcohol limit.
The court heard that the high profile former parish priest provided a 0.074 reading during the roadside breath test on January 11, well over the legal 0.05 limit.
He was fined $400 and disqualified from driving for two months but was granted an exception during his work as a priest.
Axl Pitman
Bar manager Axl Maitland Pitman has been caught drink-driving without a licence when he just completed his road trip from Western Australia.
He pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of liquor, driving while disqualified, and driving without a licence in Proserpine Magistrates Court.
The court heard he was pulled over on Waterson Way, Airlie Beach for random breath testing on May 6, but he did not have his drivers licence with him despite having driven interstate to the coastal Queensland town.
Police confirmed that he did not hold a current licence after it was cancelled in 2021 due to unpaid fines.
His breath testing returned a reading of 0.198, around four times of the general legal limit.
He was fined $1500 with his licence disqualified for two years.
Michael Schrapel
Ipswich jockey Michael Schrapel has been caught driving with an “extraordinary” alcohol reading after his major racing event was washed out.
He pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of liquor.
The court heard he went out drinking with his friends after the event was cancelled before police smelled liquor coming from the car when he was intercepted.
He ran a breath test with the reading returned to be 0.254, five times of the legal limit.
Schrapel was fined $1500 and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Jasmine Sharkey
Business owner Jasmine Joy Sharkey has made up a mystery driver to avoid blame for her own drunken crash.
She pleaded guilty to Maroochydore Magistrates Court to driving under the influence of liquor and driving an unregistered vehicle.
The court heard police saw the vehicle ending up halfway on kerb on May 29, with herself initially telling them a man she met that night had been driving and ran off after the crash, but CCTV footage showed her leaving the venue alone.
She returned a reading of 0.203 following the crash around 11.30pm.
The court was told Sharkey called police the next morning admitting she was the driver.
Sharkey was sentenced to nine months’ probation and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Mitchell Sullivan
Mermaid Waters man Mitchell Barry Sullivan has avoided jail despite being more than four times the legal blood alcohol limit when he mowed down a pedestrian and hit an oncoming vehicle.
He pleaded guilty at Southport Magistrates Court to driving under the influence of liquor, disqualified driving, dangerous operation of a vehicle while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance and possessing dangerous drugs.
The court heard Sullivan drove onto the footpath on Oceanic Drive on July 30, 2024, striking a female pedestrian who suffered a fractured hip, before careening across four lanes of traffic to hit an oncoming vehicle.
The police prosecutor told the court his car was littered with empty XXXX Bitter cans with a reading of 0.206 for his breath test.
The court was told he suffered a serious eye injury in 2015 that ended his plumbing career and led to increased drinking and drug use.
Sullivan was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment with immediate court-ordered parole, disqualified from driving for three years, and ordered to pay the pedestrian $5000 compensation.
Douglas Watt
Hinchinbrook man Douglas Walker Watt has his car rolled and flipped on a rural road as he was drunk driving.
He pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol in Ingham Magistrates Court.
The court heard the single-vehicle incident on March 29 caused substantial damage to the car’s sides and the roof.
He was knocked out in the incident in which his breath reading returned 0.164, three times the legal limit.
The court was told he had suffered injuries that required hospitalisation and five staples to his head, which prompted him to seek professional assistance for his problem drinking.
He was fined $600 and banned from driving for six months.
Rachel Warwick
Rachel Aliyah Warwick has gone behind the wheels after having five tequila and sodas in Airlie Beach.
The woman was pulled over on May 18 when her breath testing turned out to be 0.157, three times of the legal limit.
The court was told this was her first time before the court and the case had been a wake up call to her.
She was fined $1000 and disqualified from holding a drivers licence for six months.
NO CONVICTION RECORDED
Lauren Jones
Former Western Australian police officer Lauren Diane Jones has been taken off the road after colliding with another car while almost five times the legal blood alcohol limit at a popular Sunshine Coast hinterland venue.
The Palmwoods woman pleaded guilty at Maroochydore Magistrates Court to driving under the influence of liquor.
The court heard Jones was drinking at Rick’s Garage on Margaret Street at Palmwoods on June 18 when she was involved in a minor collision about 5.40pm.
Police found Jones intoxicated at the scene with a breath test returning a reading of 0.233, more than four times of the legal limit.
Jones had served in the Western Australian Police Force for eight years before being seriously injured in the line of duty and placed in an induced coma.
The court was told she was moving her car from a 15 minute parking zone to a two-hour space.
Jones was fined $1300 and disqualified from driving for 11 months.
Craig Lewis
Motorcyclist Craig Robert Lewis has been convicted of drink driving after he crashed his Harley Davidson into a stationary vehicle, suffering serious injuries in the process.
The 61-year-old pleaded guilty in Nanango Magistrates Court to drink driving and driving without due care and attention.
The court heard Lewis failed to identify stationary vehicles waiting on the D’Aguilar Highway on June 30 last yesterday, braked suddenly and slid his motorcycle 10 metres before colliding with the back of a Subaru.
He returned a reading of 0.092 per cent following the crash.
The court was told Lewis was flown to Sunshine Coast University Hospital where he sustained 14 fractures and spent several days recovering.
Lewis was disqualified from driving for three months, with Magistrate Andrew Sinclair acknowledging he had already suffered due to his injuries and damage to his motorcycle.
Melissa Mallet
Head of media for Brisbane Broncos Melissa Telhia Mallet has drunkenly crashed into two parked cars.
The former Channel 9 reporter pleaded guilty at Brisbane Magistrates Court to driving under the influence of liquor.
The court heard she crashed her Kia Sorento into two parked vehicles while attempting to do a U-turn in a residential Paddington street on June 2.
Her breath test returned a reading of 0.157 after police were called to the scene following the crash.
Mallet had told ambulance officers she had drunk four or five glasses of wine prior to the incident.
She was fined $1000 and disqualified her licence for nine months.
Steve Renouf
Brisbane Broncos legend Steve Renouf has been caught driving at almost four times the legal blood alcohol limit, telling police “You’ve got me, I’m drunk” during a routine traffic stop.
He pleaded guilty at Brisbane Magistrates Court to driving under the influence.
The court heard Renouf was pulled over on Windsor Road at Red Hill on July 1 for a routine licence check when police smelled alcohol and noticed he was slurring words and dropping items.
He returned a reading of 0.197 following the intercept.
The court was told the Queensland Maroons and Australian Kangaroos great had been socialising with friends in Paddington when he made the decision to drive home.
Renouf was fined $1200 and disqualified from driving for 11 months.
Originally published as Full list: 19 of Queensland’s most shocking drink drivers exposed in court
