Geoffrey Vidaic, 52, was driving along the notorious stretch of road at 11am on August 17 when his Toyota Hilux collided with the concrete median barrier, sending the vehicle off the road and up an embankment.

Passersby found Vidaic slumped forward in the driver’s seat in an “almost unresponsive” state. Mucus and saliva covered his beard and he had wet his pants.

However, responding paramedics quickly ruled out a medical episode as the cause of the crash, instead determining that Vidaic was simply ridiculously drunk.

Officers said Vidaic was so unsteady on his feet they were forced to physically hold him up as they transferred him to the waiting police paddy wagon.

They tried to breath test him at the scene but said he kept “falling asleep”. 

He was taken to Wollongong Police Station where he returned an alcohol reading of 0.30 – six times the legal driving limit.

Vidaic told police he had drunk an unknown amount of wine the previous morning. The remnants of a cask of wine was found in the floorwell of his car.

In court on Tuesday, defence lawyer Cate Doosey said Vidaic had intended to take the day off from his surveying job due to his drunken state, however drove when his boss phoned and asked him to work. He has since lost his job.

“He was so intoxicated he wasn’t making rational decision,” she said.

Magistrate Cate Follent placed Vidaic on a 12-month intensive corrections order.