The effects of driving without a seatbelt after drinking half a case of beer and swallowing four doses of a psychoactive drug were evident in a man who hobbled into court.
Callyn James-Watson was 34 times the high-risk level for driving under the influence of drugs when he smashed head-on into a bridge, seriously injuring himself and his passenger.
The 37-year-old was sentenced in the Nelson District Court on Wednesday on charges of careless driving causing injury and driving under the influence of drugs.
He walked slowly into the dock, supported by a walking cane, still recovering from injuries sustained in the crash last November.
James-Watson was on bail for unrelated matters when he attended a gathering in Golden Bay.
His bail conditions included that he was not to consume alcohol or drugs.
Judge Bill Hastings said James-Watson had consumed half a crate of beer and was then given a capsule of MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy).
James-Watson swallowed it, thinking it was a single dose when it was four doses.
He decided to drive to the beach to manage the anticipated effects in a safe environment, Judge Hastings said.
“You realise now the decision was made under the influence of alcohol and in the beginning of the effects of the MDMA.”
It was 2.30am on November 23 when James-Watson and an acquaintance got in the car and drove down the Collingwood-Puponga highway.
The police summary of facts said James-Watson failed to take a slight right-hand bend leading on to a one-way bridge, and instead drove head-on into the left-hand concrete abutment.
The impact threw the vehicle backwards, down a bank and almost into a creek full of water, police said.
The accused wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and his head hit the windscreen.
James-Watson was flown by rescue helicopter to Nelson Hospital with multiple serious injuries. His passenger was taken by ambulance to hospital with multiple but less serious injuries.
The vehicle was written off in the crash, police said.
Blood results showed James-Watson had 1700 nanograms per millilitre of blood of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), police said. The high-risk level is 50ng/ml.
Police prosecutor Karuna Thawoni Coleman-Boylan said a large emergency response was required at the remote location, and a punitive element in sentencing to reflect that was appropriate.
She said James-Watson offended while on bail and “serious police efforts” and a “large number of responders” were involved in the aftermath of the crash.
Coleman-Boylan said it could have been avoided if James-Watson had not driven with drugs in his system.
“The taxpayer has to pay for his decision to drive while on drugs,” she said.
Defence lawyer Michael Vesty said that “did not sit neatly” in the Sentencing Act.
He said a lot of rescuers were involved in saving James-Watson’s life and he was the first to thank those involved.
Judge Hastings said public expenditure incurred by the emergency services' response, including the rescue helicopter, was relevant to the sentencing equation.
“It would not have happened if he had not taken MDMA,” Judge Hastings said as he set an adjusted starting point of 23 months in prison.
James-Watson was awarded credits for his guilty pleas, which showed he had taken responsibility for what happened, and further credit for his rehabilitation prospects, Judge Hastings said.
He arrived at a final sentence of six months’ community detention and 15 months’ intensive supervision, including conditions that James-Watson attend an impaired driver’s programme.
He was disqualified from driving for 14 months.
