The decision to drive after a night of drinking wine could have killed someone on the road, a magistrate has warned.
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Luke O’Hara, 19, had held his probationary licence for only three days on November 9 last year when he got into a car drunk about 11pm.
He did not let serious damage to the car from a crash stop him trying to flee from police around Wodonga residential streets.
“The accused collided with the guttering of a roundabout, puncturing the rear tyres,” the police prosecutor said. “The vehicle driven by the accused had sparks flying from the driver’s side rear wheel.”
Police finally caught up with O’Hara in Menzies Court and found he had a alcohol reading three times the limit at .154.
Magistrate John Murphy sentenced him to a community corrections order with 200 hours of unpaid work, and suspended his licence for four years after the teenager pleaded guilty in Wodonga Magistrates’ Court.
“He could have killed someone,” he said.
“It’s a jailable offence and he’s got priors for drink-driving.”
The court heard O’Hara was remorseful for his driving and had been trying to get his life back on track.