A young Napier man with a full-time job and no previous record with the police has learned the hard way about the folly of getting involved in illegal racing on the streets.
It cost 20-year-old Jack William Bryant close to $14,000 for the few seconds of excitement on a suburban Napier street – the loss of his written-off $9000 car, about $4000 for damage to a parked car hit during the brief episode, and $805 in a fine and court costs, and the loss of his driving licence for six months.
Speaking on his behalf in Napier District Court on Wednesday, lawyer Alan Cressey said Bryant had accepted it was a "silly thing" to do, and he had started to make amends by paying for the damage to the parked vehicle into which he crashed near the intersection of Tait Dr and Guppy Rd, Greenmeadows, early on the Saturday morning of December 19.
Bryant had also pleaded guilty immediately at his first appearance to on charge of taking part in an illegal street race and one of driving with an excess breath-alcohol reading of 750mic, almost twice the adult prosecution threshold of 400mic.
Police prosecutor Sergeant John Ashfield said Bryant and a cousin began racing in Tait Dr and as their respective Toyotas neared the intersection Bryant lost control and "rear-ended" a parked Honda.
