An unlicensed Austinmer carpenter was busted drink driving after a boat he was towing detached from the car and slid along the Princes Highway at Berry earlier this year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Justin Scott Fullard, 45, was sentenced at Wollongong Local Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty to mid-range drink driving and never licensed person driving on the road.
Documents tendered to the court revealed Fullard was driving his friend's Toyota Prado north on the Princes Highway about 11pm on March 16, when the draw bar on the trailer broke, causing the car to sway and crash into a safety dividing rail.
Fullard's boat also flew off the trailer and slid along the road, with drivers stopping to assist.
A bystander contacted police and officers arrived shortly after, where they breath tested Fullard.
He returned a positive reading and was taken to Nowra police station, where a further test revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.147 - almost three times the legal limit.
Fullard told police he had consumed about eight schooners of XXXX Gold at the Culburra Bowling Club earlier that night, according to court documents.
To make matters worse, the court heard Fullard totalled his friends car in the crash, costing him about $70,000 in insurance costs.
Magistrate Claire Girotto asked Fullard why he never thought to get his driver's licence, to which his lawyer John Stonhan said he had previously lived in England and Canada for some years.
"He relied on others when he returned to NSW for business and personal purposes," Mr Stonhan said.
Magistrate Girotto issued a stern warning to Fullard that jail could be on the cards if he continued to drive without a licence.
He was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for seven months.
Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.
Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
