Drink driver almost EIGHT times the limit
Police apprehended a 46-year-old local driver with an astonishingly high breath alcohol level almost eight times the legal limit.
The man was stopped in Frankton at 3.30pm on Monday, 2 December, and blew an alleged 1981mcgs. That's thought to be one of the highest levels clocked locally, although Police couldn’t comment on that. The legal limit is 250mcg.
Constable Amanda Shute says Police stopped the vehicle on Kawarau Road after a complaint from a member of the public that the driver was allegedly swerving in their lane and had almost run off the road.
It was peak school pick-up hour in Frankton when traffic was at its busiest.
Senior Sergeant Glenn Wilkinson says that was “a very high reading”. “It’s obviously very concerning that someone that intoxicated was driving on our roads,” he says.
The man was automatically suspended from driving for 28 days and will appear in the Queenstown District Court at an unknown date.
A 63-year-old local man was also charged with driving with an excess breath alcohol level, third or subsequent, after allegedly blowing 600mcgs when stopped at a Police checkpoint just before 7pm on Saturday, 30 November.
Crash and go
At 6am the next morning, Sunday, 1 December, a driver allegedly crossed the centreline into the opposite lane on Gorge Road, crashing through a fence, dropping 1.5m into a carpark, then careering a further 10 to 15m and crashing into another fence before finally coming to a stop.
Police were called by a witness, but the driver had fled the scene prior to Police arriving. Shute says enquiries are continuing as Police locate the driver.
Assault on bar bouncer
A 29-year-old Christchurch person has been charged with assault after allegedly approaching a bar door security officer and punching them in the face at 3.35am in Camp Street on Saturday, 30 November.
Shute says Police were called after the person had been removed from a bar and they left after speaking to the person at length about their removal from the bar. Shortly after Police left the person allegedly approached the security officer and punched them.
And a 38-year-old local male has been charged with disorderly behaviour after a bit of a rampage in Shotover Street at 12.35am on Friday, 29 November. Shute says he allegedly grabbed a broom and snapped it on a power box then approached a male and punched him in the face before the pair had a brief altercation.
Tree fell on house in high winds
Local fire crews were also called to Fernhill on Tuesday night (3 December) after high winds caused a tree to fall onto a house, causing damage to the house. Fire and Emergency Otago Lakes Group assistant commander Nic McQuillan says thankfully nobody was hurt, but he’s cautioning property owners who have trees that look unstable to get advice, or call an arborist.
“Be aware in these high winds, be proactive,” McQuillan says.
He's also urging outdoors lovers to take responsibility for their actions when lighting fires, check the regulations and fire hazard and register any fires on checkitsalright.co.nz.
“We’ve had a number of out-of-control fires in the last month caused by carelessness when people are burning off,” he says. “People need to take all the right safety measures and ensure their fires are supervised at night.”
He’s concerned that people make sure any fire they’re lighting is ‘legal’ heading into what forecasters are predicting should be a hot summer.
Heli rescues
A St John spokesperson says a patient was airlifted to Lakes District Hospital from Skippers in a moderate condition just before midday on Sunday, 1 December, by the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter. No further detail was available.
A patient was also airlifted to Dunedin Hospital from Fernhill around 3pm on Tuesday, 3 December, after what is believed to have been a biking accident. A St John spokesperson says one ambulance and two helicopters responded and there was no patient condition available.
