Two people face possible costs of thousands of dollars as a result of unrelated crashes involving cars hitting buildings in Napier.
Appearing in Napier District Court on Tuesday were Steven Mark Kershaw, 55, who admitted charges of reckless driving and drink driving as a result of an incident in which he hit a Marine Parade lodge frontage and two vehicles, and 17-year-old Chance Calder who hit an Onekawa house, in a car taken from the home of one of his three teenaged passengers. Neither person has any previous convictions.
According to a police summary, Kershaw drove out of a Marine Parade carpark about 9.35am on March 29, ploughed across the median strip and hit the front of Seabreeze, a bed and breakfast establishment.
He reversed, hit a southbound car, spun around and hit a parked car, and then crashed into the Seabreeze a second time.
A police officer managed to reach into the vehicle and switch off the ignition as Kershaw attempted to drive off. He later recorded an alcohol level of 1065 micrograms per litre of breath, more than 2 times the legal limit.