Exposed: Tassie’s drink and drug drivers revealed
From a Tassie man caught almost seven times the legal limit to inexperienced drivers who caused fatal crashes, we take a look at the names of those who have faced Tassie courts for drink and drug driving >>
Tasmania
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TASMANIA Police have revealed just how many drug and drink driving offenders were caught behind the wheel last year, as a list of high profile offenders over recent years drives home the dangers one of the Fatal Five pose on our roads.
Between January 1 and November 30 last year, police nabbed 1379 drink driving offenders in the state.
The drug driving offences recorded in the same period were roughly double that, totalling 2673, though data could not yet be revealed on the demographics of drivers or substances involved.
Assistant Commissioner Jonathon Higgins said the Road Safety Strategy targeted high risk driving behaviours including drug and drink driving – one of the “fatal five” contributors to deadly crashes.
“This approach means we deploy our resources at the locations and times when we know these high-risk driving behaviours are more likely to occur,” he said.
“By being highly mobile out on the roads we could be anywhere at any time testing drivers. “Our aim is to both detect those driving under the effects of substances and deter anyone from deciding to take the risk.”
The total drink driving tests carried out were 123,196, with actual offenders comprising only 1.1 per cent of those tested, while in comparison 43 per cent of the 6222 drug driving oral fluid tests conducted were positive.
Police suggested suspending large-scale static roadside drink driving testing for six months during COVID-19 may have affected results, with the introduction of oral fluid testing kits in December 2018 also seeing a large increase in drug driving offenders being caught.
These are some of the highest profile cases from the last decade for drug and drink drivers who put the community at risk — some taking lives — by getting behind the wheel while under the influence.
Scott Andrew Garth
Victorian man Scott Andrew Garth, jailed for causing death by negligent driving, was on the wrong side of the road, was twice the legal alcohol limit for driving and had illicit drugs in his system before a fatal crash, a court heard.
The Hobart Magistrates Court heard Garth had a blood alcohol reading of 0.095 and ecstasy and speed or methamphetamine in his system when he swerved head-on into a car being driven by disability support worker Patricia Oldham at Campania on April 14, 2014.
Mrs Oldham’s husband Lex said the family felt let down by the justice system.
“I’m pretty disappointed, devastated really with the outcome, considering the leniency,” he said.
“Where’s the value in a life? The guy has had six prior sentences for drink driving. Each one had a suspended sentence.”
Jason Mark Farrelly
Jason Mark Farrelly, 42, had drunk about three longnecks and six cans of XXXX Gold beer before he collided with a 30-carriage train on August 20 last year.
The wool industry worker, who had a blood alcohol reading of 0.102, fled the scene after his tail light was destroyed by the 2012 tonne, 496 metre-long train.
But a trail of debris from his car led police straight to Farrelly’s home, where he confessed all.
Farrelly pleaded guilty in the Hobart Magistrates Court to drink driving and driving without a licence.
He was convicted and fined $800.
Read the full story here.
Tom Andrew Hickey
Disqualified driver Mr Hickey was driving an unregistered car and had a blood alcohol limit of 0.108 and cannabis in his system when he crashed on a sweeping Huon Highway bend in August 2018.
He was 19 years old and had been on his way to a party in Dover with friends when the car flipped and resulted in one of his 17-year-old friends sustaining serious injuries.
Mr Hickey also suffered fractures in his spine, hip socket and pubic bone.
He pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving as a provisional driver with alcohol in the body, driving a motor vehicle while a prescribed illicit drug was present in the blood and driving an unregistered vehicle, for which he was sentenced in August 2020 to 18 months home detention with electronic monitoring.
Full story here.
Luke John Foster
Mr Foster’s drink driving in August 2019 resulted in his 20-year-old friend Justin Groves losing his life.
The crash occurred at Lemont, Southern Midlands on a rural road when Mr Foster lost control of his ute and the vehicle rolled.
He was on his P plate automatic licence at the time, required to have a blood alcohol reading of zero, but blew between 0.108 and 0.188 and drove a manual vehicle.
Mr Foster pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, causing death by negligent driving and breaking his drivers licence conditions.
He was sentenced to eight months home detention and was required to pay a $1,500 fine.
Full story here.
Aaron Samuel Henrick
A learner driver who lost control and careened off a cliff, throwing two teen passengers through the windscreen and killing one, was sentenced to spend at least two years in jail.
Aaron Samuel Henrick, 21 from Strahan, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in the Supreme Court.
The court heard in October 2014 he had been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis before driving an unroadworthy car off the cliff and landing on its roof on top of 15-year-old Chloe Michelle Walsh.
“Mr Henrick’s driving was obviously and inherently dangerous to his passengers,” Justice Helen Wood said, adding that two other teenagers were hurt in the 31-metre plunge after a bystander had tried to stop Henrick from driving.
Wayne Phillip Dennis
The East Devonport man’s blood alcohol limit was more than five times the legal limit when he died in a crash in February 2020.
Mr Dennis drove home after a social gathering at a pub nearby Port Sorell despite his friends urging him not to get behind the wheel.
He had crashed into a tree in the early hours of the morning and was dead at the scene.
Investigations revealed he had travelled at 120km per hour in an 80km zone and had not secured his seatbelt.
Full story here.
Christopher Glen Basso
As well as three counts of driving while disqualified, Mr Basso was charged with drink driving twice in one day by police.
The New Norfolk man was charged in December 2017 having a blood alcohol count of 0.16 when police pulled him over for driving without a fastened seat belt.
Within 15 minutes he was discovered to have driven his car again using spare keys, where police secured his wheel with a steering clamp. He continued driving with the clamp before finally being apprehended.
Mr Basso was additionally charged with two counts of drink driving, failing to wear a seat belt, driving without a licence and unlawful interference with a clamped vehicle and sentenced to nine months in prison.
Full story here.
Minia Maria Di Tommaso
Magistrate Glenn Hay said his “blood ran cold’’ when he heard some of the terrifying details of drivers risking the lives of innocent motorists by hitting the roads in boozed defiance of the law when several people faced court on the same day on December 23, 2009 for high-range drink driving.
Hobart hairdresser Minia Maria Di Tommaso terrified other drivers on the Brooker Highway on the afternoon of September 9 when she drove with a reading of 0.269, forcing at least one car to take evasive action to avoid a crash.
“You were a risk to yourself but more importantly other road users,’’ Mr Hay said.
He suspended Di Tommaso’s six-week jail sentence on condition she be of good behaviour for 18 months and undertake alcohol addiction counselling.
Di Tommaso was fined $1000 and disqualified for 22 months.
Kate Marie Tegg
Kate Marie Tegg, 18, was given a suspended jail sentence in 2009 after trying to drive along the East Derwent Highway on October 12 despite being too drunk to walk.
The court heard that Tegg, of Gagebrook, crashed her Diahatsu three or four times along the highway as she tried to return to a city pub, looking for her mobile phone and purse.
The L-plater crashed into a road railing and tried to drive off when police approached, but crashed again and stumbled out of the car.
Tegg was taken to the police station where she blew 0.198, four times the limit for full-licence holders.
Mr Hay said he was appalled.
“When I heard the facts my blood ran cold,’’ Mr Hay said.
He gave Tegg a six-week suspended jail sentence, banned her from driving for more than two years and fined her $1350.
Kim Bush
A Tasmanian man driving while about seven times over the legal blood-alcohol limit was jailed for more than two years when his case was heard in 2010.
Kim Bush, 27 of Burnie, recorded a blood alcohol level of 0.354 after a head-on crash in May 2009 left an elderly woman in a wheelchair for life and broke her husband’s back.
Bush had veered across the Bass Highway and crashed head-on into the couple’s car.
He pleaded guilty in Tasmania’s Supreme Court and was sentenced to 30 months jail, with a non-parole period of 15 months.
Krishna Kali Brown
Ms Brown’s drink driving resulted in her son sustaining a head wound and her sentence of 18 months in jail with 12 months suspended.
She was charged with causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving, driving while exceeding the alcohol limit and driving while disqualified and pleaded guilty to all charges.
The Penguin woman had driven with a blood alcohol reading of 0.179 when she rolled her car multiple times after mishandling a bend on Railton Rd.
Of her two sons, one suffered a head and elbow injury.
The deep split in his head could not be properly rejoined.
Ms Brown had been disqualified from driving at the time of the incident in August 2017 and will remain disqualified for a further two years after her sentence has been served.
Full story here.
Experts weigh in on finding solution
Post-doctoral alcohol and other drug researcher Dr Thomas Norman said “visible policing” was one effective deterrent, but said public awareness needed to improve.
His area of research explores “residual risk” from substance use which occurs after acute intoxication begins to subside and can cause fatigue and other physiological impairments.
“The risk for acute intoxication is pretty well established at the moment, but the effects of residual impairment are less known,” he said.
“Illicit drugs stay in your system a lot longer than some people imagine, methamphetamine or MDMA can stay in your system for 30 hours or more – in that respect, just because you are consuming something the night before then wake up the next day it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not going to be impaired.”
He said awareness campaigns should reflect the national push from police to catch drug drivers.
“If drug driving is something we’re concerned about, which we should be, then it’s important people know they have to wait an extended period of time before driving.”
He said a primary motivation for drug and drink drivers was believing they were still in control of their bodies while intoxicated, with a secondary motivation being they didn’t believe they would be caught.
However a Tasmania Law Reform Institute report in 2018 found recidivist drug and drink drivers (those who repeatedly offended) were not responding to current safety messages and continued to break the law and risk lives.
The report characterised these repeat offenders, who are over-represented in serious crashes, as mostly male, aged between 30 and 39 and less educated with lower incomes compared to first-time offenders.
The population was most likely to live in postcodes with high levels of socio-economic disadvantage.
Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Council Tasmania acting CEO Jackie Hallam said drug driving, which by its very nature was illegal, was harder to deter through messaging.
“You can’t advise people to ‘only have this amount’ of an illicit drug like you can with alcohol, but we do want to raise awareness for services out there because there is a grave and present danger stepping into a vehicle under the influence of any drug,” she said.
Ms Hallam said preventive solutions were more effective than measures adopted after recidivist drink driving had already become an entrenched behaviour.
“Local services do wonderful work untangling and working with people who are recidivist drink drivers,” she said.
“The work they do is often unpacking trauma and other experiences and lifestyle stress, some don’t have houses or have mental health conditions, it’s complex.
“We encourage people if they are worried about someone or know someone who does engage in risky drug use, they can encourage them to get information about it, because the more you know about it the more you can change your behaviours.”
The Tasmanian Alcohol and Drug Service can be reached via 1300 139 641 or dhhs.tas.gov.au/mentalhealth/alcohol_and_drug
Mental health crisis support is available 24/7 at Lifeline via 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
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