By ERWIN CHLANDA
Police who pulled over a five seater Holden Commodore sedan last night could not believe their eyes: There were 13 people in it, including nine children aged between five and 12.
All were “unrestrained”. The arrest was carried out at 9pm yesterday, on the Stuart Highway, three kilometers south of Barrow Creek (pictured, file photo).
“The vehicle continued on for a kilometre before pulling off to the side of the road and turning off the car lights to avoid detection,” says Police Superintendent James O’Brien.
“A further inspection of the car revealed shocking defects including no brakes and no seatbelts. The 28-year-old male driver was breath tested and returned a medium range reading of .105 breath alcohol.”
He was charged with: Driving with unrestrained child (x 9), medium range breath alcohol, driving an unregistered motor vehicle, driving whilst unlicensed, driving an unsafe motor vehicle and breach of an APO.
The picture is not Barrow Creek.
[ED – Sorry, Michael, yes, it is.]
Unless the alleged offender is a serial recidivist and has double digits in drink driving, it is probable he will only get fines – big money, sure (probably around an aggregate of $3K in fines and $2K in victim levies).
They will be “paid off” at a few shekels a week and he will probably be doing it again at the next opportunity.
Any prosecutor worth his or her salt could make a case for 174(c) of the Criminal Code here, recklessly endangering life which carries 10 years.
As aggravation could clearly be proven, it jumps to 14 years. They could even trade it down to 174(d), recklessly endangering serious harm which still carries 10 years with aggravation but would speed things through the courts.
He would be out in probably three and a half years but it may teaching him more than losing $20 a week out of his wallet. Just more tough on crime, soft on offenders stuff from the Constantly Losing Prisoners mob.
When things got out of control on the streets of Alice last year, police indicated they would involve the Department of Children and Families where parents couldn’t or wouldn’t take responsibility for their kids.
I wonder if similar action has been taken on this occasion, given the number of children who were put at risk by being in this vehicle.