The driver of a vehicle which flipped while performing 'donuts', trapping a man underneath it, was sentenced in Lithgow Local Court on March 21.
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Lachlan Thomas Steinwede, 21, from Lindfield, pleaded guilty to mid-range drink driving and dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
The charges followed an incident at Rylstone on June 10 last year.
The court heard a group had been enjoying a weekend dirt-biking near Rylstone, staying at the caravan park. After an evening at the Rylstone Hotel, with more drinks back at the caravan park, the group decided to go for a ride in a Mitsubishi dual cab ute.
Initially another member of the group was driving, who then climbed into the back of the ute with another person and Steinwede took the wheel.
According to documents presented to the court, the man who had initially been driving called out a warning as Steinwede performed donuts, warning that the vehicle was going too fast. He pushed the other person travelling on the tray off the ute and then jumped himself.
The vehicle flipped and the man was unable to get clear. The ute ended up on top of him and he was trapped. He was freed by emergency services and flown to Bathurst hospital for treatment.
Steinwede returned a blood alcohol level of 0.116.
He was disqualified from driving for 18 months, placed on a 10 month intensive correction order and ordered to undertake 150 hours of community service.
Charges of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm (drive under the influence), negligent driving and negligent driving occasioning actual bodily harm were withdrawn.
Caught on film
A Portland man was found guilty of driving offences after an off-duty police officer filmed him repeatedly driving on the wrong side of the road and performing u-turns on the Castlereagh Highway.
Benjamin Allen Dickson, 40, pleaded guilty to the charge in Lithgow Local Court on March 21.
An off-duty officer driving on the Castlereagh Highway near Cullen Bullen on June 2 last year began to follow the vehicle Dickson was driving at about 3pm after he saw him perform a u-turn in an odd spot.
The officer pulled up on the side of the road and filmed on his mobile phone as the vehicle swerved onto the wrong side of the road a number of times. He contacted the police. The vehicle turned off onto dirt road at Ben Bullen and the officer followed until the vehicle stopped at the Capertee Hotel. When uniformed officers arrived, Dickson was arrested and taken to Lithgow Police Station.
He was disqualified from driving until March 2020 and placed on a community corrections order for 18 months.
Drink driving
A Bowenfels man's licence was suspended and he was ordered to install an interlock device after he was found guilty of high range drink driving in Lithgow Local Court on March 21.
Gregory Paul Orchard, 62, pleaded guilty to the offence, which occurred in Lithgow on January 26 last year.
He was pulled over for a random breath test on Main Street and returned a breath analysis of 0.172.
