A former Uber driver found drunkenly slumped behind the wheel of his still idling car in the middle of a Figtree roundabout has avoided a jail sentence. Avneet Kumar, from Fairy Meadow, told his lawyer he remembered nothing of the April 5 incident - a matter that didn't escape the attention of arresting police, who said Kumar was so drunk he had no idea where he was or who he was speaking to during the encounter. Read more: Accused Cringila hit-and-run driver tells police: 'I thought I'd hit a bird' Kumar was convicted and handed a 12-month community corrections order in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of mid-range drink driving and resisting police. He was also banned from getting behind the wheel for five months, then will be required to have an interlock device installed in his car for a further 12 months. Documents tendered to the court reveal Kumar, a one-time Uber driver now receiving a Job Seeker allowance from the government, was driving a Toyota Camry in the early hours of April 3 when he mounted the gutter of the roundabout at the intersection of Murray Park Drive and Bellevue Road. The vehicle came to a complete stop in the middle of the roundabout. Kumar then slumped forward in the driver's seat and fell asleep while holding his mobile phone in his hand. The car was still running and still in drive at the time. A resident saw the incident and contacted police, who arrived to discover Kumar still asleep at the wheel. Officers said they opened the driver's side door and woke the 31-year-old from his "slumber". They immediately noticed his eyes were glazed and bloodshot and his breath smelt strongly of alcohol. Officers turned off the vehicle's engine and asked Kumar for his driver's licence, however police said he became argumentative and spoke incoherently. When asked to submit to a breath test, Kumar pulled away from police and said "no you ask him" before telling the officers "well, call the police then", despite the fact they were in full uniform standing directly in front of him. "The accused was so heavily intoxicated he didn't even know where he was or who he was speaking to," officers wrote in the tendered documents. Kumar refused to get out of the car, prompting police to drag him out under protest. He was eventually restrained, handcuffed and taken to Wollongong Police Station where he was subjected to a breath analysis, which returned a reading of 0.140 - nearly three times the legal limit. In court on Tuesday, Magistrate Susan McGowan said it was "a miracle nobody was hurt" in the incident. "We all have a responsibility on the roads....[but] the message about drink-driving is not getting through," she said. "His driving record is not exemplary but it's not the worst I've seen." We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
Avneet Kumar leaves Wollongong courthouse on Tuesday after his sentencing.
A former Uber driver found drunkenly slumped behind the wheel of his still idling car in the middle of a Figtree roundabout has avoided a jail sentence.
Avneet Kumar, from Fairy Meadow, told his lawyer he remembered nothing of the April 5 incident - a matter that didn't escape the attention of arresting police, who said Kumar was so drunk he had no idea where he was or who he was speaking to during the encounter.
Kumar was convicted and handed a 12-month community corrections order in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of mid-range drink driving and resisting police.
He was also banned from getting behind the wheel for five months, then will be required to have an interlock device installed in his car for a further 12 months.
Documents tendered to the court reveal Kumar, a one-time Uber driver now receiving a Job Seeker allowance from the government, was driving a Toyota Camry in the early hours of April 3 when he mounted the gutter of the roundabout at the intersection of Murray Park Drive and Bellevue Road.
The vehicle came to a complete stop in the middle of the roundabout.
Kumar then slumped forward in the driver's seat and fell asleep while holding his mobile phone in his hand.
The car was still running and still in drive at the time.
A resident saw the incident and contacted police, who arrived to discover Kumar still asleep at the wheel.
Officers said they opened the driver's side door and woke the 31-year-old from his "slumber".
They immediately noticed his eyes were glazed and bloodshot and his breath smelt strongly of alcohol.
Officers turned off the vehicle's engine and asked Kumar for his driver's licence, however police said he became argumentative and spoke incoherently.
When asked to submit to a breath test, Kumar pulled away from police and said "no you ask him" before telling the officers "well, call the police then", despite the fact they were in full uniform standing directly in front of him.
"The accused was so heavily intoxicated he didn't even know where he was or who he was speaking to," officers wrote in the tendered documents.
Kumar refused to get out of the car, prompting police to drag him out under protest.
He was eventually restrained, handcuffed and taken to Wollongong Police Station where he was subjected to a breath analysis, which returned a reading of 0.140 - nearly three times the legal limit.
In court on Tuesday, Magistrate Susan McGowan said it was "a miracle nobody was hurt" in the incident.
"We all have a responsibility on the roads....[but] the message about drink-driving is not getting through," she said.
"His driving record is not exemplary but it's not the worst I've seen."
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
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