Meth head fronts court for slamming car into tree and injuring teens

A motorist with a cocktail of drugs in his system was so tired he put his car in cruise control, fell asleep at the wheel and crashed in Murrumbeena almost killing his three teenage passengers.

Michael Pershouse nearly killed three teenager passengers when he lost control of this BMW and slammed into a tree in Murrumbeena. Photo: Patrick Herve

A drugged-up motorist with a horror history of driving offences who fell asleep at the wheel and crashed with children on-board has been jailed.

Michael Pershouse, 36, pleaded guilty in the County Court to two charges of dangerous driving causing serious injury, failing a drug test within three hours of driving and driving while disqualified.

He was sentenced on Wednesday to three years’ and two months’ jail imprisonment.

Witnesses saw him and his front seat passenger smoking weed and drinking alcohol from a slurpee cup, while two 12-year-olds and a 13-year-old in the back seats were given Vodka cruises prior to the crash on Dandenong Rd, Murrumbeena, about 1.30am on June 10, 2018.

Michael Pershouse has been sent to jail for falling asleep behind the wheel while drugged up and causing an accident on Dandenong Rd which nearly claimed several lives.

Judge Fiona Todd said about 1.30am on June 10, 2018, Pershouse was driving west along Dandenong Rd in Murrumbeena when his front seat passenger noticed the car was travelling too fast, swerving and saw the Pershouse had fallen asleep at the wheel.

As the passenger screamed ‘Michael, Michael, Michael’ to try and wake him up, the car veered off the main carriageway, mounted the grass median strip and continued on.

The car then struck the metal pole of the street sign, knocking it out of the ground before colliding with a tree about 15m from where it first veered off the road.

Pershouse’s friend got out of the car and checked on the children who managed to exit the vehicle themselves. Pershouse was treated as he lay on the median grass strip and appeared to be in great pain. He told police at the scene he had taken codeine and fell asleep at the wheel. It was later established that he was unlicensed and disqualified from driving and the car was not registered to him.

Tests less than three hours later showed he had methamphetamine and amphetamine in his

blood.

The car driven by Michael Pershouse slammed into a tree at Murrumbeena.

On of his back seat passengers suffered bruising and lacerations to her upper body, spent seven days in hospital and has had to take eight weeks off school.

Pershouse told police two months after the crash that the cruise control in the vehicle was on at the time because he was ‘absolutely f-----’ and felt exhausted, that he woke up as the car hit the grass and saw the tree coming towards him.

He was extradited to Victoria from Queensland after he failed to appear in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court.

In the 10 months before the crash, Judge Todd said Pershouse faced a number of driving charges and just a day before the accident, he was pulled over and found to be a disqualified driver.

“You put three children in a car and another person and drove in circumstances when you knew you were incapable of keeping proper control of the car,” Judge Todd said.

Pershouse must serve a minimum of two years and one month.