A budding drug and alcohol psychologist has been ordered into counselling himself after writing his car off in a boozy early morning crash in Warrawong.
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Amrit Indraratna, from Albion Park, was thoroughly drunk when he lost control of his VW Jetta while travelling north on Vermont Street just after 4am on December 14 last year.
He veered into a parked Holden Commodore, hitting it so hard the force of the impact caused his own car to flip onto its roof.
The Jetta was then shunted into a box trailer on the opposite side of the roadway.
Indraratna was able to free himself from the wreckage.
Neighbours roused by the sound of the crash went to investigate and discovered Indraratna sitting in the gutter.
Police who arrived at the scene a short time later later said Indraratna appeared "extremely affected" by alcohol, noting his eyes were glazed and bloodshot and he was incoherent and rambling when he spoke.
Police also discovered empty bottles and cans of beer in the upturned Jetta.
Indraratna was taken to Wollongong Hospital where a blood sample was obtained. His blood alcohol reading was later determined to be 0.210 - more than four times the legal limit.
Indraratna pleaded guilty to a charge of high range drink driving in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday, with defence lawyer Sam Karnib saying his client deeply regretted his actions.
He said Indraratna, a University of Wollongong graduate with a masters in psychology, worked casually for leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation services Kadesh House and Watershed (although he has since been fired from the Watershed job) and had ambitions to "help people who commit the types of offences he did".
Police prosecutor Sergeant Pavlin noted Indraratna had a previous conviction on his record for mid-range drink driving.
Magistrate Susan McGowan spared Indraratna full-time jail, instead sentencing him to a 12-month, community-based intensive correction order.
"He could have been killed or killed anyone nearby," she said.
"It was a very dangerous situation."
As part of the court order, Indraratna must attend any recommended drug and alcohol counselling and perform 150 hours of unpaid community service work.
