Dion Watson, Isa Mcharg, Brett Mills, Lawrence Murray, Benjamin Hockey, Titus Reuben: Drivers busted drinking in Townsville
A builder who crashed into a truck, a young mum who got behind the wheel after an argument and a baker who was busted driving over the limit — meet the drink-drivers punished in Townsville’s court.
Townsville
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Several motorists have appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court over the past month after forgetting the age-old saying: “If you drink, then drive, you’re a bloody idiot”.
While some have blown just above the blood alcohol limit, others have put themselves and other motorists in danger by getting behind the wheel with too much booze under their belts.
Dion Kyle Watson
A Sun Metals Zinc Refinery worker was lucky he didn’t kill himself or other road users after crashing into another vehicle while drink-driving in the rain, a court has heard.
Addressing Townsville Magistrates Court on September 15, police prosecutor Erin Collis said
Dion Kyle Watson, 26, crashed his white Toyota Landcruiser into the rear of a white Toyota HiLux at 10pm on November 12, 2021.
She said the HiLux, which had stopped at a red light, was pushed by the impact into the middle of the intersection of Woolcock St and Ingham Rd, creating extensive damage.
When police approached Watson, he produced a Western Australian drivers licence, was “slurring his words and smelt strongly of liquor”.
He told them he had four mid-strength schooners of beer, and registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.178 – almost four times the legal limit.
Watson pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of liquor, failing to keep a safe distance behind a vehicle, and driving without reasonable consideration for other people using the road.
Watson’s defence lawyer Adam Mussap said his client suffered from depression and anxiety issues, leading to his decision to drive in the “extremely wet” conditions, where “thankfully no one was injured”.
It had cost more than $2000 so far to repair his vehicle.
Magistrate Steven Mosch said Watson was a danger not only to himself but other road users, and was “lucky to still be alive”.
“If you caused someone else to be killed, you’d be looking at a number of years in prison,” Mr Mosch said.
Allowing for the time Watson had already been off the road, he imposed an additional 12 month licence disqualification period, a $1750 fine, and recorded a conviction.
Isa Jane Mcharg
A Townsville mother made a “silly decision” to get behind the wheel while over the alcohol limit following an argument, a court has heard.
Police found Isa Jane Mcharg, 24 on July 23 at 8.30pm trying to leave a property but another car was blocking her in the driveway.
The court heard she was seen crying inside the car, and smelt strongly of alcohol.
After negotiating with her to move her car forward, police prosecutor Sophie Roseby said Mcharg refused to open her car door and continued to obstruct police after she was handcuffed.
When asked to blow into a breathalyser, she said “I’m not blowing into that f---ing s--- and you can’t make me”.
Back at the police station, she eventually provided a breath alcohol sample of 0.093 – almost double the limit.
On September 20, Mcharg appeared in the Townsville Magistrates Court, pleading guilty to driving over the general alcohol limit but not over the middle alcohol limit and failing to provide a specimen for a breath test.
Describing the behaviour as “out of character”, defence lawyer Lorelie Billing said Mcharg was involved in an argument before making the “silly decision” to drive.
Ms Billing said her client didn’t actually drive on the road and eventually co-operated with police.
She said Mcharg had a young daughter and her work as an early childhood educator would be affected by a licence disqualification.
Noting there was nothing aggravating in her traffic history, Magistrate Ken Taylor said it was a high blood alcohol reading.
He increased her fine $800 and disqualified her from driving for two months, with no convictions recorded.
Brett Thomas Mills
A Townsville builder who had been drinking the night before, was seen by witnesses swerving on the Bruce Highway before he crashed at Bluewater.
Police prosecutor Cassandra Nitz told Townsville Magistrates Court that Brett Thomas Mills, age, was travelling northbound on the Bruce Highway before crashing at 9.40am on July 28.
Mills was the sole occupant of a vehicle which clipped the rear of a semi-trailer.
His breath alcohol test was 0.067 – just over the legal limit.
Representing himself in court on October 4, Mills pleaded guilty to driving over the general alcohol limit but not over the middle alcohol limit and driving without due care and attention.
He told Magistrate Richard Lehmann that he felt “pretty embarrassed about the whole situation”.
There had been a rare family reunion where he had been drinking for most of the previous day.
He had been travelling home from Bunnings that morning after picking up items to help with babysitting.
Mills had no recollection of the crash but dashcam footage revealed he “veered to the left” and then “overcorrected”, hitting the back of the truck.
Telling Mills “you’re lucky that you’re here”, Magistrate Lehmann asked what happened in the lead up to the crash, which couldn’t be explained by the blood alcohol reading alone.
The Magistrate said the crash was “serious”, warning Mills that he needed to drive with due care and attention.
He imposed a $1000 fine and disqualified Mills from driving for two months, with a conviction recorded.
Lawrence James Murray
A Townsville man who had been drinking during “sorry business”, made the wrong decision to drink-drive and crashed his car.
A court has heard how on April 23 at 9.12pm, Lawrence James Murray was involved in a traffic crash on Nathan St, Aitkenvale, next to Stockland Shopping Centre.
Police prosecutor Eireann Philipson said Murray ran off after rear-ending a vehicle with his purple Holden Commodore, and was apprehended a short distance away.
He registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.167 – over three times the legal limit.
Murray pleaded guilty in Townsville Magistrates Court on September 14 to driving under the influence of liquor, driving without a drivers licence, and failure to appear in accordance with an undertaking.
Defence lawyer Amanda Zugno said Murray was unemployed and had been drinking due to sorry business relating to the death of his father.
He had just bought the Commodore and “there seemed to be an issue with the brakes”.
She said he understood the severity of his offending and the danger he posed to others.
Magistrate Viviana Keegan described the incident as “very serious offending” where he could have killed someone at a very busy intersection.
“You should have stuck around and instead you ran off, and that makes it all the more serious,” she said.
Allowing for his clean driving record over the past 14 years, she sentenced him to two months imprisonment, wholly suspended, with a six month operational period.
He was disqualified from holding a licence for 12 months, with a conviction recorded.
Benjamin John Hockey
A Townsville man was nabbed by police while taking his yellow ATV for a spin after downing several beers, a court has heard.
Police prosecutor Sophie Roseby said police were conducting patrols when they spotted Benjamin John Hockey driving his recreational off-road vehicle through bushland near Deeragun.
When they pulled him over for a random breath test at 6.15pm on August 18, Hockey told them he had consumed four beers.
The breath alcohol test resulted in a reading of 0.066 – just above the legal level.
He appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court on September 20, pleading guilty to driving over the general alcohol limit but not over the middle alcohol limit.
Magistrate Ken Taylor reminded him that a person driving any vehicle on the road shouldn’t be affected by excessive alcohol.
Hockey was fined $300 and disqualified from driving for one month, with no conviction recorded.
Titus Azariah Reuben
A young Townsville baker who had a provisional licence was caught driving family members around after he had been drinking.
Police prosecutor Sophie Roseby said on September 4 at 4.26am, Titus Azariah Reuben, 21, was pulled over by police for a licence check and breath on Nathan St, Aitkenvale.
He told officers that he’d offered to give family members a ride to an aunty’s house.
The blood alcohol test came back at 0.037 – above the zero amount required for provisional licence holders.
He appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court on September 20, pleading guilty to driving while over the no alcohol limit while holding a provisional licence.
Defence lawyer Abbey Huckstep said her client worked as a baker at Tip Top Bakery.
She said he thought he was right to drive after drinking a bottle of water and waiting two hours before driving.
“It was an error on his behalf and it’s not a mistake he’ll make again,” Ms Huckstep said.
Magistrate Ken Taylor said there was “no leeway” when it came to having a zero blood alcohol reading.
He disqualified Reuben’s licence for three months, imposed a $300 fine, and didn’t record a conviction.
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Originally published as Dion Watson, Isa Mcharg, Brett Mills, Lawrence Murray, Benjamin Hockey, Titus Reuben: Drivers busted drinking in Townsville
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