Dean Mildren faces Shepparton court for ‘appalling’ driving, drug use
A man rolled his eyes at a magistrate after she called him out for using a “massive” amount of drugs and “appalling” driving of a truck towing an excavator in Kialla.
Goulburn Valley
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A man rolled his eyes at a magistrate after she called him out for using a “massive” amount of drugs and “appalling” driving in a truck towing an excavator.
Dean William Mildren, 38, appeared in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Friday after pleading guilty to reckless conduct by driving a heavy vehicle dangerously into oncoming traffic and drug offences.
The Burnside Heights man was driving a tipper truck and towing a trailer with an excavator towards Shepparton on the Goulburn Valley Highway on March 24, 2024 when police received reports of his erratic driving.
About 5.20pm, Mildren passed a police car parked beside the highway in Kialla and when officers began to drive behind him the truck veered to the wrong side of the road.
Police reported due to peak hour traffic was heavy and other vehicles had to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
Police activated their lights and sirens as Mildren continued in the wrong lane before slowly veering back to the left and over the lines onto the shoulder of the road.
After 500m he turned into the United Petroleum fuel station in Kialla and parked.
When police approached him, the believed he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol due to his glazed over eyes and dilated pupils.
A breath test was negative but a drug test returned a positive result for a drug found in cannabis.
Almost 80g of cannabis was found inside the truck as well as a Xanax bottle.
Mildren was arrested but could not be interviewed due to drug impairment.
A further blood test after Mildren was taken to the police station found there were six other drugs also in his system.
Magistrate Victoria Campbell said dismay did not begin to cover how she felt about his driving.
“I cannot believe you are alive and that you didn’t kill someone else,” she said.
Ms Campbell said Mildren showed no insight into why he was abusing drugs.
“You have imbibed in a massive amounts of drugs and driven in an appalling manner,” she said.
“You can roll your eyes as much as you like but you should consider yourself lucky to be hearing this today, and that your father hasn’t already been to your funeral or is visiting you in jail.”
Mildren was sentenced to a two year community corrections order including mental health and drug treatment and offending behaviour programs.
He has been disqualified from driving for two years.
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