Drunk man's 30km drive causes chaos

A motorist side-swiped by another vehicle describes what happened to police. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A man sent home from work when his boss suspected he was drunk side-swiped two cars near a primary school - one of which a child was about to get out of - before he was caught drink-driving more than 30km away.

The man was charged with drink-driving with 1114mcg per litre of breath. The limit for drivers 20 years and over is 250mcg.

He drove 33km from his work in Kamo, down Kamo Rd past Whau Valley school before parking his car at McLeods Bay, where police found him walking.

It is one of three incidents involving atrocious driving police have dealt with in Whangarei over the past week.

Police say the 44-year-old man had been sent home by his boss when he arrived at work in Kamo about 8am yesterday. The worker drove off and allegedly did a burn-out, as he left on Kamo Rd heading towards Whangarei. Police then got calls from two motorists who had been clipped when stationary near Whau Valley School about to drop off their children to school. Fortunately no one was injured. Investigations led police towards Whangarei Heads Rd where they found the man walking, after parking his vehicle at a property in McLeods Bay, about 6km from home.

The man will appear in Whangarei District Court next month charged with drink-driving (third or subsequent), careless driving and sustained loss of traction. His car was impounded and his driver's licence suspended for 28 days.

On Saturday, police arrested a 26-year-old Tikipunga man who recorded a breath alcohol level of 1001mcg. A Whangarei police spokesman said officers noticed a white Mitsubishi station wagon being driven erratically towards Whangarei on Onerahi Hill about 8.55pm. Police stopped the driver on Riverside Dr. He was charged with drink-driving, driving while disqualified and dangerous driving.

On Thursday a fleeing driver reached speeds of up 150km/h and turned off the vehicle headlights while trying to evade police. Police spotted the driver when he did a burn-out turning on to Otaika Rd off Mount Pleasant at 9.20pm. He was pulled over by officers 300m from the Manu intersection but as police tried to carry out a breath test he sped off towards Maunu, overtaking three other vehicles at the top of Maunu Hill without the headlights on. Police stopped their pursuit on SH14 near Cemetery Rd but soon found the car parked on Kara Rd where it fled again.

Eventually police found the car in a paddock after it crashed off Kara Rd at the intersection with Kokopu Rd. A police dog and handler tracked the man through the paddock and arrested him. A 27-year-old Maungatapere man will appear in court on charges of sustained loss of traction, reckless driving, failing to remain stopped and aggravated failing to stop.