A truck driver who narrowly missed a police officer during a more than 50km police pursuit was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
Nathan James Wright, 29, drove through roadworks, veered his truck at an officer, and drove on the wrong side of the road to avoid road spikes during the pursuit, between Milburn and Lawrence in October last year.
His driving was "unheard of" and meant the logging truck he was driving was "nothing less than a lethal weapon", Judge Michael Crosbie said.
"In my time on the bench, I've never come across a driver driving a truck in such a manner."
Defence counsel Bill Wright said his client had undergone personality changes and was apprehensive after the earthquake, having been in a building at the time.
