KEY POINTS:
A two-year-old was rescued from a car after her allegedy drunk father passed out at a service station while filling the vehicle.
Police allege the man had driven the car to the Mobil service station in Rotorua about 9am on Sunday. He was breath-tested after he woke up after about 40 minutes.
The man, from Auckland, was charged with drink-driving with an alcohol reading of 1729mcg per litre of breath. The limit for drivers aged 20 and over is 400mcg.
Police were unsure how far he had travelled but were grateful service station staff rescued the girl after the man passed out on the gas station's forecourt on the corner of Old Taupo Road and Sunset Road.
Senior Sergeant Ed Van Den Broek said the 30-year-old man had paid for his gas with his eftpos card - taking several attempts to get it right - and went back outside.
"As he was pumping the petrol he slumped over the boot and to the ground where he fell asleep," Mr Van Den Broek said.
Service station staff, who had already called police, took the little girl out of the car.
"Policed towed his car ... and took the little girl to her mother's house in Rotorua," Mr Van Den Broek said.
It took 40 minutes for the man to wake up.
The man's alleged alcohol reading is believed to be one of the highest recorded in New Zealand.
The 30-year-old Auckland labourer appeared in the Rotorua District Court yesterday on a charge of drunk driving. He also faces a charge of driving while disqualified.
He has not entered pleas to the charges and was due to appear in court again today.
- DAILY POST (ROTOURA)
