A Kenyan man's actions in speeding at 153km/h while almost four times the legal blood alcohol limit have been slammed as a "recipe for death".
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Tony Kiprotich Komen had lost his licence in a Melbourne court, for high-range drink-driving, just two months before he did it all again.
Before he took over from the fatigued driver north of Holbrook, Albury Local Court heard on Monday, he had been drinking heavily in the back seat.
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Police saw the silver Toyota Corolla driven by the Melbourne student, 25, going at "well in excess" of 110km/h in the right-hand lane of the Hume Freeway at Kyeamba on April 10 at 5.44pm.
Komen took over behind the steering wheel just north of Albury, about half an hour before he was pulled over by police.
Magistrate Richard Funston was aghast at Komen's actions behind the wheel.
"It's just a recipe for death, isn't it?" he told defence lawyer Mark Cronin.
Mr Funston strongly considered jailing Komen, who instead was convicted and placed on a three-year community corrections order, with a ban on drinking alcohol anywhere in NSW.
"At least I can make some containment in NSW, that you're not drinking and driving," he told Komen, who got a 15-month driving ban and a $600 fine in the Dandenong Magistrate's Court on February 10.
But Komen tried to tell the highway patrol officers he left his Kenyan international licence back home, in the suburb of Cranbourne North.
Komen previously pleaded guilty in Holbrook Local Court to second-offence high-range prescribed concentration of alcohol, driving while disqualified and exceeding the speed limit by more than 30km/h.
Mr Cronin said Komen acknowledged the seriousness of his driving that day.
"It's a significant example of high-range drink-driving, and by that I mean it was a high speed and driving while disqualified," he said.
Mr Cronin said Komen and the two other people in the car were heading to Canberra when the driver indicated he was getting tired.
"Mr Komen, who had been drinking in the back seat of the car, said 'I'll drive'," he said.
The combination of disqualified driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.153 while driving at more than 150km/h was described by Mr Funston as "absolutely horrific".
"It just beggars belief," he said, telling Komen that the terrible consequences of his driving could have ultimately ended up in the NSW Coroner's Court.
Mr Funston placed Komen on the three-year order, banned him from driving for nine months and fined him $1000 on the high-range PCA charge.
For disqualified driving he copped a 12-month ban, with a six-month disqualification and $1000 fine on the speeding charge.
"Well, Mr Komen, if you ever come to court again on a drink-driving matter you will got to jail," Mr Funston said.
"I can't even repeat that speed, it's that terrible."
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