Police & Court
Driver who crashed the morning after drinking was three times the legal limit
A man who crashed his car while driving home the morning after drinking was more than three times the legal alcohol limit, a court has heard.
Wayne Edward Thornbury, 61, of Barmah, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to drink driving and careless driving.
Prosecutor Senior Constable Luke Lund told the court Thornbury crashed his ute near Moorilim about 2.40pm on March 1 last year as he drove home to Barmah from Bentley with his friend.
While merging from Murchison-Violet Town Rd to enter the Goulburn Valley Fwy, Thornbury’s ute “clipped the curb”, he lost control and the ute collided with a group of trees, before flipping onto its roof, Sen Constable Lund said.
Thornbury and his passenger were trapped in the ute for about an hour.
The court heard Thornbury was flown to Melbourne’s The Alfred hospital with nine broken ribs, a punctured lung, ruptured kidney, and bleeding on the brain.
His passenger also received injuries including two broken ribs.
Sen Constable Lund said Thornbury returned a blood alcohol content reading of 0.163 after the accident
When interviewed by police a month-and-a-half later, Thornbury said he had not consumed any alcohol on the day, but had drunk half a bottle of bourbon the night before and finished drinking at 10pm, Sen Constable Lund said.
The court was told Thornbury had no memory of the crash, but told police he “must have stuffed up somewhere”.
Thornbury’s solicitor Emma Gray said her client had chronic pancreatitis, which affected the body’s ability to process alcohol.
In sentencing, Magistrate Peter Mithen said Thornbury’s high alcohol reading would have had an effect on his driving that day.
Thornbury was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for 16 months.