Dylan William Dutschke pleaded guilty to mid-range drink driving and driving without due care after conducting stationary burnouts on Ruthven Street

Spending time with the wrong company has seen a station hand charged after endangering the lives of others during the Carnival of Flowers. Now he’s faced court for his actions.

A North Queensland station hand has felt the harsh penalties of the law after he was caught endangering the lives of others during the widely popular Carnival of Flowers.

Dylan William Dutschke, 26, was visiting the Garden City from Normanton when he met up with an old friend in the Toowoomba Safe Night Precinct on September 17, 2022, and proceeded to conduct “terribly reckless” behaviour that could have ended in “catastrophic” circumstances, the court heard.

Dutschke pleaded guilty on October 25 at the Toowoomba Magistrates Court to mid-range drink driving and driving without due care after conducting stationary burnouts on Ruthven Street.

Dylan William Dutschke pleaded guilty in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court to one count of mid-range drink driving and one count of driving without care. October 25, 2022. Picture: Facebook

Dutschke was in the company of his friend, who earlier in the night had been detained and released after climbing onto the roof of the Tatts Hotel, and came under police’s radar after his friend was being tracked through the precinct’s CCTV footage around 10.30pm.

The friend had filmed Dutschke behind the wheel of his newly purchased vehicle where he made a scene for the camera and performed burnouts while the CBD was heavily populated for the Carnival of Flowers, police prosecutor Anita Page told the court.

“(The) friend was in danger of being hit if the vehicle had lost control,” she said.

Dutschke had refused a road side breath test and was placed in handcuffs until he calmed down and a reading was taken, resulting in a 0.182 alcohol reading.

Dylan William Dutschke pleaded guilty in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court to one count of mid-range drink driving and one count of driving without care. October 25, 2022. Picture: Facebook

Dutschke was taken to the Toowoomba Police Station where another reading was taken showing 0.114.

Solicitor Ryan McCullough said his client was extremely remorseful and embarrassed by his actions, both on Ruthven Street and to the police, and said while no excuses would be made, it was an “act of drunken stupidity”.

Dutschke, who works as a leading hand at a property in Normanton eight months of the year and assists on his family’s Central NSW property the remaining four months, had a poor traffic history involving drink and drug driving charges from both states.

Mr McCullough told the court a probationary period would be incredibly difficult for his client to report, due to his remote lifestyle, and public transport was non existent near his main work site.

Magistrate Louise Shephard took into consideration the difficulties surrounding a probation order, and Dutschke’s plea of guilty, but said the sentence would have a “significant impact” on him.

Dutschke was fined $1600 to be referred to SPER and was disqualified from driving for 10 months.