Booze, speed, drugs: P platers before the courts

One thought it was a good idea to go for a driving lesson after a few drinks, another hid her mates in the boot. Some have even killed their passengers. We look at P platers who’ve faced court.

Despite a crackdown on laws designed to keep young people safe on the roads — and protect other motorists from them — some irresponsible P platers have still faced the courts.

In most cases they were lucky to escape causing serious injury to themselves, or others.

But some killed their passengers. They and the families of the dead will have to live with the consequences for the rest of their lives.

We take a look at just some of recent examples heard in Queensland courts.

CONVICTION RECORDED

SANTOSHA LE ROUX

Santosha Le Roux piled her friends in the boot of her car.

The 19-year-old Coolum P-plater thought piling her boozed-up friends in her car, including in the boot, was the “safest” option to get them all home from a night out on limited funds, a Sunshine Coast court heard in September.

Santosha Le Roux blew 0.052 after being pulled over on August 22 last year in Noosa while driving a car without P plates, even though she was required to display them.

Police prosecutor Alison Johnstone said police had pulled Le Roux over for a random breath test when they saw a man fall out of the rear passenger door.

“Police approached it and saw the male had been laying unrestrained across three other persons in the rear seat,” she said.

“Police heard a noise and located another male person unrestrained hiding in the rear hatch section of the vehicle.”

Le Roux pleaded guilty to driving over the general alcohol limit as a holder of a provisional licence, exceeding the loading limit of a car, not displaying green P-plates and two counts of not ensuring passengers were wearing seatbelts.

Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist fined her $550 and disqualified her from driving for three months.

DYLAN RICK SHIELDS

Dylan Rick Shields. Picture: Facebook

In December last year Richlands Magistrates Court heard Shields had racked up 42 demerit points in three years, including three disqualified driving offences in four months, despite being only 20 and on his P plates.

Shields, of Oxley, cooled his heels overnight in a watch house before appearing to plea guilty to disqualified driving for the third time in four months — on July 7, September 2 and October 17.

He had also failed to appear at court, a police prosecutor said.

“That’s more than 10 times the number of demerit points you are allowed,’’ Magistrate Stuart Shearer told him.

“Most of it (the 42 demerit points) was for speeding.’’

“This year you have been dealt with for unlicensed driving and disqualified driving.’’

Mr Shearer fined him $2000, disqualified him from driving for a total of five years and imposed a four-month jail sentence, suspended for five years.

KATE ELLEN ALFORD

Kate Alford was jailed for dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death or grievous bodily harm, and drink driving.

Alford last week was sentenced to three years’ jail after a high-speed crash that killed her workmate Amy Pilgrim, 23.

A Brisbane court was told Alford, then aged 19, was drink driving and filming a Snapchat video of herself after attempting to drive 130km home to a cattle station following a drinking session at a pub.

Judge Michael Burnett said a concerned friend, who had earlier cautioned Alford about drinking and driving, travelled behind them and said Alford was exceeding the 100 kmh speed limit before the crash.

Alford pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle causing the death of Ms Pilgrim, drink driving, using a handheld mobile phone while driving and failing to wear a seatbelt, in September 2020.

Pilgrim, who had come to Queensland from her family’s Victorian farm to fulfil her dream of working on a large Central Queensland cattle station, died at the crash scene.

A scream could be heard on the Snapchat video as Alford lost control of the car, which rolled a number of times.

Crown prosecutor Sarah Dennis said Alford performed CPR on Pilgrim, repeatedly crying out “I killed Amy. I’m going to jail. I killed her”, before passing out.

Two hours after the accident Alford had a blood alcohol reading of .071.

Alford’s sentence was suspended after three months. She received 18 months’ probation for drink driving and was disqualified from driving for four years.

OWEN ANDREW DENDLE

Owen Dendle

The 18-year-old was sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ jail, suspended after 12 months, last September after pleading guilty in Rockhampton District Court to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death while excessively speeding.

The court heard popular Yeppoon Year 11 student Rhys Yore, 16, died after being thrown from Dendle’s car.

Crown Prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence said Rhys was in the rear and another passenger in the front.

She said Dendle told Rhys moments before the crash: “Are you ready, Rhys?’’

“Rhys replied: ‘Ready for what?,’’ Ms Lawrence said.

“The defendant then began drifting, which was intentionally causing the car to lose traction and slide through a roundabout.

“The front passenger estimated that the defendant was going about 60km per hour through the roundabout.”

Ms Lawrence said the speed limit for that area was 50kmh.

Judge Michael Burnett said Dendle lacked life experience and maturity “and that informs poor decision making, which (is why) you’re in the position that you’re in today”.

MISTIE-LEA HELEN MOTT

Mistie-Lea Helen Mott. Picture: Facebook

The “embarrassed’’ cleaner wiped away tears in Gympie Magistrates Court in February after being charged for a wild night in October when she drove drunk and caused a scene at the local hospital.

Mott, 29, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath test, obstruct police, failing to provide a blood test and public nuisance.

The court heard police pulled her over at a service station where she told them: “Yeah, you’ve got me, I’m over, I’m done”.

Mott was breath tested five times before becoming aggressive and headbutting a police car.

After being taken to the emergency ward at Gympie Hospital she pretended to urinate on the floor and swore at hospital staff.

Magistrate Chris Callaghan described Mott’s behaviour as “appalling”.

He fined her $1000 and disqualified her from driving for nine months.

NO CONVICTION RECORDED

SIDNEY FERMOR GRIMM

Sidney Fermor Grimm. Picture: Facebook

Grimm faced court last October after running off Mt Lindesay Hwy and hitting a tree at 85km/h following a big night out on party drug MDMA on August 15 at Munruben in Logan, Beaudesert Magistrates Court was told.

The MacGregor 19-year-old pleaded guilty to driving with a drug in her system.

Grimm was trapped in her car for more than 45 minutes and firefighters had to free her.

The court heard Grimm’s male passenger suffered minor injuries but was able to escape the wreckage on his own.

Police spoke to witnesses who confirmed Grimm had been swerving and nearly caused a head-on collision before the crash.

Grimm broke her right femur, was in hospital for eight days, and had to have surgery for her injuries.

Magistrate Kerrie O’Callaghan disqualified her from driving for one month and fined her $350.

JESSE JAMES ALEXANDER

Alexander was busted at more than double the limit before crashing his car doing skids on the way home after a drinking session, Caloundra Magistrates Court heard last October.

He fishtailed off the road and into a drain after driving on the wrong side, police prosecutor Mark Burrell said.

When police arrived they found him in the driver’s seat with the keys in the ignition.

The court heard Alexander told police he had been doing skids on the way home and had been drinking for a couple of hours before the crash.

He was breathalysed and returned a reading of 0.110.

The tiling apprentice pleaded guilty to a charge of drink driving.

Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist disqualified him from driving for three months and fined him $600.

VANESSA KATHLEEN O’DONNELL

Vanessa Kathleen O'Donnell. Picture: Facebook

The 20-year-old Waterford West P-plater told Beenleigh Magistrates Court in September that she was speeding more than 40kmh above the limit because “it was fun’’.

She pleaded guilty to dangerous operation a vehicle at Crestmead in August.

Police allege she was first spotted driving northbound on Rai Dr and continued on Magnesium Drive at close to the 60km speed limit.

She then did sudden a U-turn and accelerated to 100kmh while driving past a group of people standing near the road, narrowly missing them.

“It’s not fun, it’s life threatening,” Magistrate Terry Duroux said.

“If something untoward occurred you could have mowed down some of those people that were standing in proximity, say there’s one or two deaths, you’d be on a vehicular manslaughter type charge and be locked up at the moment.

“You young people don’t think about this.”

He fined O’Donnell $1000 fine and disqualified her from driving for nine months.

UNNAMED TEEN, 18

In June, 2019, the P plate driver crashed into a ute, killing a 15-year-old boy, Southport Children’s Court heard in June, 2019.

But the 18-year-old walked free after losing his licence for six months. He was also placed on a 12-month restorative justice order.

The court was told his car hit a ute carrying a mother and her children. One of the three passengers in the teenager’s car could not be saved.

The driver, 17 at the time of the crash, was charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death.

But the charge was later downgraded to driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road.

Both the driver and the boy who lost his life cannot be named because of legal restrictions, against the wishes of the victim’s heartbroken family.

Media were barred from entering the court.

Outside court, an aunty of the dead boy — one of the first people on the scene — said the images of her mortally injured nephew would “haunt me forever”.

COREY JAMES TURNER

Corey James Turner: Picture: Facebook

Stanthorpe’s Corey James Turner was more than twice the legal limit when he sped around a corner and ploughed into a unit block, Stanthorpe Magistrates Court heard earlier this month.

The 25-year-old “attempted to turn left, travelling at excessive speed when the front wheel skid and the car collided into a unit”, police prosecutor Sergeant Terry Wiggan said.

He said the crash caused extensive damage to the unit.

The father of two called police himself and later returned a blood alcohol concentration of 0.119.

He pleaded guilty to failure to maintain control of his vehicle, failing to display P plates and drink driving.

Magistrate Julian Noud said Turner was “lucky the collision happened at 3.15am and not 3.15pm, as it could have been a worse outcome with people walking on the sidewalk”.

The Woolworths worker was fined $1200 and disqualified from driving for six months.

BRANDON JOHN DORE

Brandon John Dore outside Beenleigh Magistrates Court.

The learner driver from Eagleby was caught drink driving while taking a driving lesson on a quiet residential street in July.

Dore was fined $1800 after appearing in Beenleigh Magistrates Court charged with seven offences including driving a motor vehicle while over the general alcohol limit while a holder of a learner licence or unlicensed, driving without due care and attention and driver failing to remain at an incident.

The court heard Dore decided to go on a driving lesson after having a few drinks but crashed his car on Dryandra Drive, Eagleby.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Darrel Armfield said Dore later produced a breath alcohol content of 0.063 per cent

Magistrate Michael O’Driscoll said the incident was a result of “very poor decision making.”

“If you wanted to learn how to drive a 0.0 result would have been the best way to start with,” he said.

He disqualified Dore from driving for 12 months.

UNNAMED TEEN, 18

The teen was jailed earlier this month after a serious crash in north Queensland which left his passenger in a coma fighting for her life.

The now 18-year-old driver, who cannot be identified, faced the Children’s Court where he was jailed for nine months after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm while adversely affected by alcohol and a string of other driving offences.

High school student Kaitey McNaught, a passenger, was critically injured in the accident on October 25, 2020.

The court heard the driver attempted to evade police and drove dangerously before smashing into trees on a Charters Towers street.

The P-plater, who was 17 at the time, was under the influence of alcohol and had spent hours at a pub drinking with Ms McNaught and other friends before the crash.

A breath test undertaken about an hour after the crash showed the teenager had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 per cent.

He told police he estimated he drank an estimated 15 alcoholic drinks in the hours he spent at the pub.

Ms McNaught suffered critical injuries which left her disabled, including a traumatic brain injury, bleeding to the brain and other organs, fractures to her neck, ribs and femur.

She lost her sight in one eye as well as her sense of taste and smell.

She was wheelchair bound for months, requires assistance with daily tasks and still struggles 18 months later to stand for more than 10 minutes.

Ms McNaught’s parents watched the court hearing via video link and both wiped away tears as a judge described the woman’s testimony about her experience as “harrowing”.

The driver was sentenced to 18 months’ jail, with half of the sentence to be served in an adult prison.

He was banned from driving for two years.

Originally published as Booze, speed, drugs: P platers before the courts