A 24-year-old Canowindra man has been fined $750 and disqualified from driving for six months at Cowra Local Court.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Hayden Bryce Ewart, of Waddell Street, was before the court charged with a mid-range PCA, to which he pled guilty.
He was also charged with driving in the dark with no lights on and not displaying P plates, to which he pled guilty, but they were dealt with by no further penalties.
According to police facts around 2am on April 18, 2021, Ewart left a hotel in Cowra and entered a green Holden Commodore, taking off extremely quickly.
His vehicle had no lights illuminated.
After being followed by police the vehicle skidded to a stop, both the driver, Ewart, and passenger exiting and running from police.
Police caught Ewart and placed him in handcuffs.
He was arrested and taken to Cowra Police Station for a secondary breath analysis. When asked for his license he produced a P2 license.
His breath analysis returned a reading of of 0.097 grams of alcohol in 210 litres of breath.
In relation to his drinking he told police he consumed 12 cans of Bundy and Coke and had not eaten any food because "eating is cheating".
Ewart's solicitor, Clive Hill, told the court his client had only been drinking soft drinks at the hotel and the alcohol consumption had occurred earlier in the day.
"On the night in question, he went to the rugby had a few drinks there, went home, got into an argument and decided he'd better make himself scarce," he said.
"Later on in the day he went to the hotel and drank soft drinks for over an hour. He didn't think he was still affected and got behind the wheel to follow his mates up to an after-party, but at that point, he was pulled over.
"So some hours had passed since he had the initial drinks."
The court heard Ewart had completed the traffic offenders program and had "learnt a lot".
In sentencing, Magistrate Stewart said Ewart's record didn't assist him.
"His driving record is not a good one.
"There's been multiple non-compliance with p-plates, seven speeding matters on his record and driving suspended. Not a good record.
"Mr Ewart do not drive whilst you are disqualified, you would risk imprisonment of up to 12 months.
"Once the disqualification is over you must reapply for your license."
