Terry Ethan has no memory of the day his high-powered Holden Commodore collided with another car on busy Bourke Street in North Wollongong.
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His two victims are not so lucky.
Peter Tory, a 65-year-old Uber driver, and Dannielle Bruce, his 27-year-old passenger at the time, have daily reminders of the injuries they suffered because of Ethan’s reckless conduct on the afternoon of July 21, 2017.
Ethan, a 27-year-old labourer from Bulli, was driving drunk and at high speed when his Commodore failed to negotiate the turn into Keira Street and hit a gutter.
The vehicle became airborne, crossed to the wrong side of the road and ploughed into Mr Tory’s Hyundai Accent.
First responders said both vehicles were a mess, particularly Ethan’s: “The force of the impact has caused the wheel’s of [Ethan’s] vehicle to be partially dislodged from his vehicle and the entire front of his vehicle has been destroyed, rendering it almost unrecognisable from the front”.
The trio was taken to Wollongong Hospital where Mr Tory was treated for a serious fracture to his right foot and Ms Bruce for soft tissue and ligament damage to her right hand.
Neither has been able to work since the crash and Mr Tory still cannot walk properly. Both will require ongoing medical treatment.
Ethan was arrested in November. During an interview with investigating officers he said he remembers attending the North Gong Hotel after work and ordering a schooner of beer while playing pool with friends.
The next thing he remembers is waking up in hospital the following day. He told police he had no idea how much alcohol he’d had to drink, however a blood sample taken at the hospital immediately after the crash revealed he had more than three times the legal limit in his system.
Meantime, witnesses to the collision recalled hearing a loud “revving” and screeching tyres before turning to see the vehicle slide across the road and hit Mr Tory’s car.
Investigating officers also obtained dash-cam footage of the crash, which confirmed the accounts given by the witnesses.
Ethan was charged with aggravated dangerous driving to which he pleaded guilty in Wollongong Local Court last week.
In a statement of facts tendered to the court, Senior Constable Trisha Laughlin said the potential danger to the public due to Ethan’s manner of driving was high.
“Police believe that if there were any pedestrians close to the collision site there is a real possibility they may have been injured or killed,” she wrote.
Ethan will face sentencing on June 15.
