A banned driver was left in a coma for three weeks after crashing a motorcycle on an Oak Flats street, a court has heard.
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Albion Park Rail resident Peter Penman appeared at Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday for sentencing after pleading guilty to several driving offences, most in relation to an incident last October that landed him in hospital.
About 3.50pm on Monday, October 11 police in an unmarked vehicle saw the 41-year-old on an unregistered KTM motorcycle on Lake Entrance Road and followed him.
The nature of Penman's driving prompted them to activate their lights near the intersection of Theodore and Hopetoun streets, but Penman kept riding, turning left onto Hopetoun Street.
He then accelerated harshly and failed to slow down at the roundabout at Central Avenue.
Penman hit the kerb on the far side of the roundabout, which threw him 10 to 15 metres onto a driveway.
He suffered serious injuries as a result and was taken to St George Hospital.
Police discovered the bike's registration plate was false, crudely cut with the letters and numbers written in what appeared to be black marker pen.
Its actual registration had expired almost six months prior and it had no third-party insurance.
Penman had been banned from driving for one year in January 2021, because he was caught driving disqualified.
Police spoke to him in February this year and he told them that all he remembered was riding onto Hopetoun Street.
He admitted to knowing he was banned from driving and told police he had bought the motorbike for $500 about two weeks' prior to the crash; he also told police he knew the registration plate was fake.
"I know that for a fact. It's like a bit of flimsy paper or something," he said.
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Penman also said he did not know police were behind him and trying to pull him over.
Last month, Penman was again caught driving while disqualified, this time in Dapto.
Police also found him with a small folding knife after stopping him for riding a bike without a helmet in Wollongong in March.
Penman pleaded guilty to negligent driving, using an unregistered vehicle, using an uninsured vehicle, using a vehicle without a number plate, two counts of driving while disqualified, and custody of a knife in a public place.
Defence lawyer Emel Ozer told the court on Tuesday that Penman did not remember the events of October 11 last year, but accepted responsibility.
Ms Ozer said he had suffered extra-curial punishment, having spent three weeks in a coma and months in hospital after the crash.
Penman's poor decision-making reflected a lifetime of drug addiction, she said, but he had been in a drug rehabilitation program for two weeks.
Magistrate Claire Girotto said she wanted to see how Penman went with the program before sentencing him.
He will return to court in August.
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