Townsville’s drink-drivers named and shamed

A driver who destroyed his car when he crashed it drunk, a father driving almost five times the limit, and a P-plater and his questionable excuse were some of the Townsville drink-drivers punished in court.

Several motorists have appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court during the month of September 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.

Cody Zawai Sturt

A Townsville man has been fined after he caused a crash in Kirwan while three times the legal limit.

He came to the attention of police on August 20 when they arrived at the scene of his crash at a roundabout on Kern Brothers Drive in Kirwan at 3.35am.

Police prosecutor Eireann Philipson said the Mazda that Cody Zawai Sturt had been driving had its hazard lights on, and was in an “extremely damaged state”.

Both sides of the car were smashed, the bumper was ripped off, there were two burst tyres, and the undercarriage was ripped out.

There was tyre marks and debris strewn across the road, a guard rail had been damaged, and a keep-left sign had been “sheared off”.

At the police station registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.163 – over three times the legal limit.

Sturt told police he’d started drinking at 5.30pm the previous day, consuming seven pints of XXXX Gold and a 10 pack of Johnny Walker and cola.

Representing himself in Townsville Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Sturt had nothing to say in his defence when he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of liquor and driving without due care and attention.

Observing Sturt’s limited traffic history, Magistrate Scott Luxton regarded the offending as “out of character”.

“Be far more cautious when it comes to the consumption of alcohol,” he warned.

He fined him a total of $1700 with a 12 month licence disqualification, with no conviction recorded.

Jake Dylan Goldring

Jake Dylan Goldring pleaded guilty to driving over the no alcohol limit while holding a provisional licence. Picture: Supplied.

A young man told a magistrate that “he had no choice” but to get behind the wheel the morning after a big rodeo event in Townsville.

Jake Dylan Goldring had been camping on June 19 when he was told the grounds needed to be vacated for another event later that day.

When he was pulled over by police for a roadside breath test on Riverway Drive, Goldring registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.036 – above the limit for provisional licence holders.

Appearing in Townsville Magistrates Court on Thursday, he pleaded guilty to driving over the no alcohol limit but not under the general alcohol limit, while holding a provisional licence.

Magistrate Peter Smid was sympathetic, saying Goldring would have only needed to wait another hour-and-a-half to be right to drive.

He issued a $500 fine and a three month licence disqualification, with no conviction recorded.

Rahn Tony David Norris

Rahn Tony David Norris was busted drink-driving almost five times the legal limit. Picture: Supplied.

A Townsville father who was busted for high level drink-driving expressed concerns about how he was going to ferry his two kids around during the school holidays without a driver’s licence.

Rahn Tony David Norris had been driving on Geaney Lane, Deeragun on August 21 when he was pulled over for a random breath test.

He registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.236 – almost five times the legal limit.

Representing himself, Norris appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of liquor.

Norris told Magistrate Ken Taylor he “wasn’t thinking about the consequences” when he decided to drive and had since lost his job as a truck driver.

He asked the magistrate to reduce the disqualification period and increase the fine.

Accusing Norris of endangering not only himself but every road user, the magistrate said he had considered imposing a 15 month disqualification period for the “high reading”.

Instead he fined Norris $1500 and imposed a 11 month disqualification period, with no conviction recorded.

Kirby-Lee Ramage

A woman who worked as a sole trader of a business on Magnetic Island was pulled over by police for a random breath test on August 19.

Kirby-Lee Ramage registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.130 – two times the legal limit.

She pleaded guilty in Townsville Magistrates Court on Wednesday to driving a motor vehicle while over the middle alcohol limit but not over the high alcohol limit.

Magistrate Peter Smid imposed an $800 fine, disqualified her from driving for eight months, and recorded a traffic conviction.

She was successful in applying for a work licence.

Originally published as Townsville’s drink-drivers named and shamed