CCTV footage of car crashing into orchard crates in Hastings.
The man who made world headlines after crashing into a stack of apple bins in Hastings has never held a licence.
Mapusaga Leota-Tuli was driving drunk when he was seen driving in the middle of Karamu Rd by a police patrol about 12.25am on April 4 this year.
The officers turned on their lights which went ignored as the 27-year-old turned left onto Kenilworth Rd where he "increased speed considerably" and overtook another car.
Travelling at speed and unfamiliar with the area, he smashed through a wooden barrier and wire gate, vaulting himself up the incline of the railway tracks into a stack of apple crates about four metres high.
Leota-Tuli was seriously injured in the crash and needed to be extracted by the fire department through the boot of the car as it was deeply embedded into the bins.
Mapusaga Leota-Tuli, 27, has been disqualified from driving for six months after pleading guilty to driving charges which resulted from him crashing into a stack of apple bins. Photo / NZME
Subsequent testing found he had a blood alcohol reading of 168 milligrams alcohol per 100ml blood, which led to him being charged with drink driving, failing to stop and reckless driving.
The legal blood alcohol limit for drivers aged over 20 is 50 (mg) per 100 ml of blood.
He appeared for sentencing before Community Magistrate Lesley Jensen in the Hastings District Court last month after pleading guilty to all three charges.
Court documents stated Leota-Tuli had "never held a licence".
In explanation for his actions to police, he stated he "just panicked".
Jensen disqualified him from driving for six months, at the end of which period he will need to apply for a zero alcohol licence.
He was also fined $800 and ordered to pay $241.99 relating to court and medical costs in relation to the drink driving charge.
The wedged white Nissan Teana Mapusaga Leota-Tuli had been driving became an unlikely attraction before it was removed by a crane. Photo / NZME
Before being removed by crane, the wedged white Nissan Teana Leota-Tuli had been driving became an unlikely attraction, with hundreds driving down the no-exit road to see it.
The summary of facts did not state how fast he was travelling at the time of the crash but a physics expert contacted by Hawke's Bay Today estimated he must have left the ground at a speed of at least 71km/h.
University of Auckland head of physics professor Jan Eldridge said to get 10m high, the car would need to have an upwards velocity after hitting the train tracks which meant it would have needed to be travelling at least 71km/h.
Fellow University of Auckland department of physics professor Richard Easther said the car would've been going at least 100km/h.
"Whatever number you landed on, very fast is going to be a good answer here," he said.
