Sydney man avoids jail time for high range drink driving resulting in crash

A 26 year old male was driving back from a Christmas party at approximately midnight, when he lost control of his car, causing a collision between himself and 4 other vehicles.

Our client attended his work Christmas party and made the decision to drive back home late at night, believing he was in a state to get himself home. Whilst he was driving, he unfortunately lost control of his super car and collided with 4 parked vehicles on the road. Once attended to by police, he was found to have a blood alcohol concentration well above the legal limit. Fortunately, no injuries were sustained from the collision.

When charged with high range drink driving, one could face jail time for up to 18 months. Given the serious nature of this particular offence based on the collision, our client was more likely to face a jail sentence.

Whilst undergoing sentencing, the prosecution, rightfully, emphasised the severity of the incident, highlighting the potential for catastrophic injuries or fatalities due to the reckless behaviour and further highlighted the guideline judgement on high range drink driving matters and how they are to be dealt with.

In response, Mr Faraj acknowledged the seriousness of the offence and further, asked the court to consider several important factors such as:

- The absence of any criminal history;

- Cooperation with law enforcement following the incident;

- Genuine remorse for his actions;

- Lack of planning and sophistication;

- Objective seriousness;

- Specific deterrence; and

- Risk of reoffending.

Furthermore, Mr Faraj argued that excessive penalties would not serve the interests of justice in this case and instead proposed a more constructive approach whereby our client can serve out a sentence in the community, which would adequately address all factors required for the purposes of sentencing as opposed to full-time imprisonment.

In a lengthy judgement, the court agreed with our submissions and our client was fined and placed on a bond as opposed to any jail time.

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