Leighton Shayne Locke sped off after crashing ‘dangerous’ unregistered car into another motorist, court hears

A Warwick driver who made a ‘stupid mistake’ after panicking and leaving a car crash said he the offence occurred due to the escalation of a ‘testosterone match’.

A Warwick driver who fled the scene of a car crash has been hit with a hefty fine for “deliberately” driving dangerously, with male bravado to blame.

Leighton Shayne Locke faced Warwick Magistrates Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to one charge each of dangerous operation of a vehicle, failure to comply with duty as a driver involved in a crash and failing to have a licence plate on the vehicle.

On May 7, the 25-year-old was driving on McEvoy St after getting his car ready for an event at the Raceway to go “drifting,” defence lawyer Sarah Campbell said.

The court was told a witness later told police they had observed two cars skidding around a wet roundabout following a patch of rain earlier.

As the other car was also drifting along McEvoy St, the street race escalated quickly, leading to Locke losing control of the vehicle.

The court was told Locke “panicked” before running away from the scene.

It was discovered that Locke did not have a licence plate on the vehicle during the offending.

“The two quickly escalated into what (Locke) describes as a testosterone match, and he said in his own words he made a very stupid decision,” Ms Campbell said.

Ms Campbell said Locke was still very engaged in the speedway and was a dedicated driver in that community.

“This has been a real learning curve in terms of consequences of what can flow from this type of behaviour and he has learnt his lesson,” she said.

“He understands he really has to direct his passion appropriately and keep it to the speedway.”

Magistrate Andrew Cridland, after recapping the details of the offending, said “this is an act of deliberate act of dangerous driving”.

“This is an intentional drive, this sort of behaviour is certainly not appropriate and should not be tolerated,” Mr Cridland said.

“A vehicle with no number plate is open for inference that this is a deliberate action as well as far as identifying the vehicle is concerned.”

Locke received a $2500 fine and was suspended from driving for nine months. A conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Leighton Shayne Locke sped off after crashing ‘dangerous’ unregistered car into another motorist, court hears