Photo gallery of the man collapsed on the forecourtKEY POINTS:
A father who was more than four times the legal limit and passed out drunk at a Rotorua gas station with his two-year-old daughter in the car has pleaded guilty to drink-driving.
Shannon Perenara, 30, from Auckland, was remanded in custody after pleading guilty in Rotorua District Court yesterday to drink-driving and driving while disqualified.
Police say Perenara drove to a Mobil service station about 9am on Sunday. While filling his car with petrol he fell asleep on the forecourt.
It took 40 minutes for him to wake up and he was then breath tested, giving a reading of 1729mcg per litre of breath. The limit is 400mcg.
The reading is believed to be among the highest recorded in New Zealand.
Senior Sergeant Ed Van Den Broek said Perenara had paid for his gas with his eftpos card, taking several attempts to get it right, then returned to his car and passed out.
Service station staff noticed he was unsteady on his feet and phoned police. After finding him passed out by the car they rescued the child, who was later returned by police to her mother's house in Rotorua.
Perenara will be sentenced in Waitakere District Court on April 18.
- NZPA
