13-year-old's drink-drive crash

A 13-year-old boy more than four times over the legal alcohol limit crashed his parents' Mercedes Benz in a case police describe as "horrendous".

The child produced a breath-alcohol reading of 658 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath - more than four times the legal youth limit and well over the adult limit.

The boy, who had a 14-year-old friend in the car, was driving towards Tauranga from Greerton when the crash occurred about 10pm on Saturday last weekend.

Police revealed details of the case on Friday, and say the driver lost control while passing through the roundabout at the intersection of Cornwall St, outside the Tauranga RSA.

The boy over-corrected, police said, did an 180-degree spin and crashed into a kerb, breaking the vehicle's axle.

The Mercedes partially block ed the lane, and the crash was reported to police who breath-tested the boy at the scene before taking him home.

Neither teen was injured.

Youth Aid Officer Constable Darren Adams described the incident as "horrendous", considering the boy's age and the real potential for serious accident.

"This is the youngest I've heard for drink driving. For our office, it's certainly unique," Adams said.

Because the boy is 13 and still legally a child rather than a youth, Adams said he would be dealt with under the care and protection provisions of the Children Young Persons and their Families Act, 1989.

He said there was a possibility the boy and his caregivers could attend a family group conference convened by Child, Youth and Family.

Alternatively, the matter could be dealt with by Youth Aid, which could involve a combination of options including attending a weekend course for youth on drink driving, community work, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, an imposed curfew and non-association with certain people.

Adams said the boy would be facing charges of driving with excess breath alcohol, careless driving and driving without a licence.

He has already been forbidden from driving, allowing police to impound his vehicle if he is found behind the wheel again.

Adams is yet to interview the boy or his caregivers and said police would be investigating where he sourced the alcohol and how he accessed his parents' car.

Bethlehem-based drug and alcohol practitioner for Ngati Kahu Hauora Monique Edwards-Shipton had not heard of a 13-year-old drink-driver but said children as young as nine and 10 were drinking heavily in the Western Bay of Plenty.

She said children were drinking in their homes, on the streets and with older friends.

Alcohol could impact on the development of the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, which is not fully developed until the age of 25, she said.

Mt Maunganui GP and head of the Tauranga branch of the Alcohol Action Group, Dr Tony Farrell, said alcohol was a high-risk drug and presents the same risks of severe harm as if a person is consuming methamphetamine.

"The more you consume the more prone you are to misjudging how much you have drunk, and that can very easily lead to overdosing on the drug with increases risk of injury."

Get Smart Tauranga Drug and Alcohol Services manager Stuart Caldwell said the organisation's Street Help Teams were out helping young people in Tauranga every Friday and Saturday night.

"We commonly encounter people as young as 13, sometimes younger, intoxicated on the streets. Usually these young people are in the CBD, Memorial Park or at various parties across the city."

Caldwell said a large contributor to this problem was the alcohol industry, which spent more than $200,000 a day on advertising and promoting alcohol.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES