Drink driving teen learned lesson: Father

An unlicensed Featherston teenager who had been drinking alcohol before getting behind the wheel of a car, leaned down to pick up his cellphone from the footwell of the car he was driving, crashing into an oncoming Ford Ranger and then ran from the scene of the smash.

Luke Ryan Dringle, 19, appearing before Judge Andrew Becroft in Masterton District Court on Thursday pleaded guilty to drink driving and was convicted and sentenced to community work and disqualified from driving.

He had produced a blood alcohol reading of 71mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit for an adult driver is 80mg but zero for a driver under 20.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Garry Wilson said that on July 19 just after 9pm Dringle was driving west on Kuratawhiti St, Greytown with two friends in the car when he "momentarily took his eyes off the road" while attempting to retrieve the cellphone he had dropped, crashing into the oncoming vehicle. Both vehicles were extensively damaged.

Running from the scene of the crash to a friend's house, Dringle was taken later taken to Wairarapa Hospital with injuries including a broken nose and swollen jaw.

His friends were taken from the scene by ambulance to hospital for treatment.

When spoken to by police, Dringle said he was the "most sober out of his friends so he decided to drive".

Lawyer James Elliott said his client had not previously appeared in court and was extremely remorseful for his offending.

Dringle was supported in court by his father who told the judge, when asked, that his son had "learnt a valuable lesson" from the smash and hadn't driven since.

Judge Becroft told Dringle his alcohol level was close to the adult level.

While he had run from the scene of the crash to try and evade police, Dringle "had faced up to it", Judge Becroft said.

"I hope you have learnt the lesson. You can't afford to offend a second time," he said.

Dringle was disqualified from driving for five months and ordered to undertake 50 hours' community work.