A 24-year-old man banned from driving with any alcohol in his system because of repeated offences faces fines and costs of almost $2400 after narrowly avoiding a jail sentence in Napier District Court last week.
Jaden Mark Fowden, of Napier, had a zero-alcohol tag beside his name but posted a level of 1211mic of alcohol per litre of breath when police tracked him down after he fled a mid-afternoon crash dressed only in jeans.
Judge Tony Adeane was told the zero-alcohol restriction was put in place when Fowden was convicted of drink-driving for a third time in May 2016.
On January 14 this year he was drinking with friends at an address in Napier and left with an associate in a vehicle which was seen wheel spinning in Napier Terrace a short while before it crashed into a parked vehicle and trailer in Main St, heading towards Corunna Bay.
The associate stayed at the scene but Fowden fled, only to be caught by police about 800 metres away, a summary said.
Fowden was fined $1000 for aggravated drink-driving, and $250 on each of the two other charges — dangerous driving and driving a vehicle with a sustained loss of traction.
Court costs of $130 were imposed on each charge and he was ordered to pay $500 reparation relating to the damage to the parked vehicle and trailer.
He was also sentenced to 12 months' intensive supervision and disqualified from driving indefinitely.