Box Hill’s Jaryd Lawrance nabbed 57km/h above speed limit

A serial leadfoot who was caught by police doing nearly 60km/h over the speed limit has given a court a worrying explanation for his dangerous driving. And the Box Hill man is still fighting to bust his car out of impound without paying a cent.

Jaryd Lawrance told the court he was mentally unwell and was hearing voices when he was allegedly nabbed speeding by police in Caulfield North.

A Box Hill man busted speeding at more than 50km/h above the speed limit has told a court he was trying to escape voices in his head.

Jaryd Lawrance, 25, made a third unsuccessful application at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on June 4 to have the release fee waived so his impounded car could be returned.

Leading Senior Constable Lisa Stillman told the court Lawrance’s car was impounded after he was allegedly caught doing 127km/h in a 70km/h zone on Dandenong Rd, Caulfield North, on April 20.

She told the court Lawrance’s probationary licence was suspended and he’d received at least 12 other penalty notices for speeding and driving while suspended.

“The speeds he was travelling at the time are concerning and if costs are to be removed from the release of the vehicle it then falls to Victoria Police,” Sen-Constable Stillman told the court.

But Lawrance told the court he was homeless and while he had temporary accommodation in Box Hill he could not afford the $1107 release fee to have his car returned.

He also told the court he no longer took drugs, which had caused him to hallucinate and hear voices at the time of the alleged offence.

“(The doctors) call it schizophrenia, I call it drug-induced psychosis,” Lawrance told the court.

“I was mentally unwell at the time. I was hearing voices and they were basically not my friends and they were chasing me.

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“I was randomly driving and trying to get away from them and, yeah, I was speeding because of that … I thought they were going to control my body and I was going to crash.”

Magistrate Jan Maclean refused Lawrance’s application because his licence was suspended and she said adequate grounds for hardship were not made out.

She also advised him against making a further application to have the impound fee waived.

“You can’t keep making applications for the same thing … it’s an abuse of process,” Ms Maclean said.

Lawrance is due back at court next month for a mention hearing.