Wodonga address won't be enough to avoid a cell, so freeway crash man must move

Albury Local Court magistrate Sally McLaughlin made clear on Wednesday, October 11, that there was no sentencing option available other than custody.

But to be given an intensive corrections order, which includes community supervision, Yves Muhumure Ndayisaba must relocate from Victoria.

She gave him until a next sentencing date of October 25 to carry this out, with a new address to be confirmed with the court by NSW Community Corrections.

Ms McLaughlin said alternatives to full-time custody were "not available to me" if Muhumure Ndayisaba continued to live in Victoria, even if the simple fact of the matter was he lived only a kilometre away from the NSW border.

Muhumure Ndayisaba previously pleaded to second offence count of driving while disqualified in Albury on October 20, 2022, of driving with a mid-range prescribed concentration of alcohol, for a reading of 0.117, and a combined mid-range drink-driving and illicit drug, of cannabis, present in system.

However, the disqualified driving offence was downgraded to a first offence after prosecutor Sergeant Andrew Coombs pointed out it had been more than five years since his previous conviction on such a charge.

The charges were laid in the wake of Muhumure Ndayisaba crashing his car on the Hume Freeway through Lavington last October.

Muhumure Ndayisaba previously had convictions imposed for low-range drink-driving and for driving under the influence.

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He was driving a 2008 Holden Rodeo south on the Hume Freeway through Lavington on October 20, 2022, when he lost control.

The ute skidded into a wire rope barrier separating the two lanes, his vehicle then careering over the top and landing in the north-bound lanes.

Police arrived and breath-tested Muhumure Ndayisaba, who gave a positive reading.

He was arrested and taken to the Albury police station. An oral fluid test was positive for cannabis.

Muhumure Ndayisaba's case had to be adjourned several times when visa issues left him unable to return from a family wedding in Africa late last year.

This had left him languishing in a Rwandan refugee camp.

Nevertheless, defence lawyer Eva Medcraft told the court on Wednesday that her client had put that time to good use, undergoing a rehabilitation program in Rwanda that addressed his substance abuse.

Ms Medcraft said since then, Muhumure Ndayisaba had not had used illicit drugs or consumed alcohol.

"He's been living with his family, which does have a positive influence on him," she said.

Ms Medcraft noted how a sentence assessment report suggested Muhumure Ndayisaba, who had broken with his previous "anti-social" associations, was at a low risk of re-offending.

She said a community-based order would be appropriate, given the ongoing assistance he would receive under supervision.

The court heard that when Muhumure Ndayisaba transferred his licence from NSW to Victoria, Victorian authorities endorsed this for an interlock device when legally this was not required.

Nevertheless, Ms Medcraft said Muhumure Ndayisaba had successfully completed the interlock period in Victoria.

"It does in my view," Ms McLaughlin said in response, "reduce his moral culpability for driving while disqualified."

Muhumure Ndayisaba told police he had downed three 375ml cans of Jim Beam and cola between 7pm and 9pm, without having anything to eat.

Police checks revealed he was disqualified from driving between January 4, 2021, and August 13, 2023.

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