Wayne Andrew Fenton finally put in jail, 14 years after crash

A drink driver who failed to appear in court on seven occasions after seriously injuring another driver more than 14 years ago is finally behind bars.

The severely damaged gold Gemini and Fenton’s red Commodore after the crash.

A DRINK driver who failed to appear in court on seven occasions after seriously injuring another driver more than 14 years ago is finally behind bars.

Wayne Andrew Fenton, 49, has pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving on the Tasman Bridge on September 28, 2004.

The facts of the case were on Friday read out in the Supreme Court in Hobart before Justice Michael Brett. The court heard the case had been delayed for more than a decade because Fenton had failed to appear on five occasions in 2005.

An arrest warrant was issued on September 28 that year but Fenton was not arrested until August 24, 2017, when he was committed to the Supreme Court.

Justice Brett was provided with no reason why it took police almost 12 years to arrest Fenton, with Crown prosecutor Anna Norton simply saying “I can’t explain”.

Ms Norton said Fenton had also failed to appear on February 5 and May 18 this year. Defence lawyer Philippa Monk said she believed Fenton’s failures to appear were because of his bipolar and “crippling” anxiety, rather than a deliberate attempt to avoid the court.

“His mental health is such that this has essentially been a long case of head in the sand … but it doesn’t mean that he’s not sorry,” she said.

“Despite being medicated, both conditions manifest in his inability to leave the house for days.”

At the time of the crash, Fenton’s Holden Commodore was travelling at up to 85km/h in the middle eastbound lane of the Tasman Bridge about 6.45pm with no headlights on.

“[Fenton’s car] moved into the lane of oncoming westbound traffic,” Ms Norton told the court.

“Shortly after, it collided with a black Hyundai hatchback that was travelling west. The Commodore then collided heavily with a gold Gemini, which was being driven by the complainant. The impact with the Commodore caused the Gemini to move into the left-hand westbound lane, where it collided further with a Ford sedan.”

Justice Brett was shown several photos of the “aftermath” of the crash.

The court heard the victim was trapped in his car for about 30 minutes before being taken to hospital. Ms Norton said the man suffered “significant injuries”, including a traumatic brain injury, spine and pelvis fractures, and several breaks in his right leg, foot and arm, many of which required surgery.

Fenton returned a blood-alcohol reading of 0.14, later telling police he had consumed six to eight glasses of Cascade Draught and six Valium tablets during the previous 24 hours.

Ms Monk said Fenton had been a “functioning alcoholic” for some time but a relationship breakdown with the mother of his daughter in 2004 caused him to drink more heavily.

Justice Brett revoked Fenton’s bail, saying a term of imprisonment was “inevitable”. He will consider the findings of a court ordered psychiatric report before handing down his sentence on February 12.