Father and son, Lofty and Thomas Harrington repaired the section of fencing, after the teen crashed through both bridge barriers and over the the creek, while drink driving. Photo / Warren Buckland
Father and son, Lofty and Thomas Harrington repaired the section of fencing, after the teen crashed through both bridge barriers and over the the creek, while drink driving. Photo / Warren Buckland
There was only one thing to do after 18-year-old Thomas Ross Harrington's aerial crash while drink driving.
Own up to his mistake and the fix the fencing he had damaged.
The crash happened on the morning of March 26, at about 5am, when the vehicle he was driving left PuketitiriRd, approaching bridge No 238, west of Taradale.
The $15,000 Toyota Hilux, which he was paying off himself, drifted over the centre line onto the grass, crashing through the wooden railing at the bridge approach, about eight metres over a small creek below, through the barrier and railings at the end of the bridge, hitting a power pole in the process.
While not seriously injured, Harrington was transported for medical treatment at Hawke's Bay Hospital in Hastings, where a blood sample found he had 88 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
The Toyota Hilux crashed through barriers at both ends of a bridge, leaping a stream and a bank on the way, and stopped upright and facing in the opposite direction back on the road. Photo / Supplied
The legal limit is 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood or 250 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. A zero-alcohol limit applies to those aged under 20.
"It was a bad choice," his father Lofty Harrington told Hawke's Bay Today.
"A lot of kids think because they've had a few hours' sleep they can still drive home but they're not 100 per cent."
Despite being "told and told" by his parents of the dangers of drink driving, Thomas had made a mistake.
"We were heading there with the idea that we were going to give him a rip," Lofty said.
"But we hadn't seen the scale of the crash."
After getting over the shock of the damage and how lucky his son was, Lofty sat down for a chat with Thomas about what had happened.
Father Lofty Harris said fixing the section of fence line damaged in the crash was about taking responsibility for one's mistakes. Photo / Warren Buckland
The owner of the property told them not to worry as the fence had already been damaged from trees being cut down, but father and son decided they would fix the fence line themselves.
And not just the bit that Thomas had damaged, but the whole section.
"I was brought up that way," Lofty explained.
"It's the right thing to do. You take responsibility for your actions."
Having lived on the rural road for more than 30 years Lofty has seen his fair share of damaged fence lines go unfixed.
He was taught that if you borrowed something like a chainsaw, you returned it in better shape than when you got it.
It's a lesson he's passed on to his son.
Thomas was also charged with driving with excess blood-alcohol and careless driving – to which he pleaded guilty – as a result of the crash.
Appearing before Judge Bridget Mackintosh in the Napier District Court on Wednesday last week, he was disqualified from driving for six months.
The wrecked Toyota Hilux after the March 26 crash. Photo / Supplied
He was also ordered to pay court costs and the $111.99 fee for the blood sample analysis.
Because Thomas had been drink driving the insurance on his ute was ruled invalid, which means he's now paying off $15,000 for a vehicle he doesn't have.
He's also making regular payments to replace the $7500 damaged power pole.
"He is remorseful," Robertson said, suggesting costs were obvious and asking the judge not to impose a fine.
Judge Mackintosh reminded Thomas that at his age the law said he should not have been driving with any alcohol in his system, and he was "quite lucky" he wasn't seriously injured or worse.
