Police were called to a single vehicle crash at Pope Street in Hamilton at 8.30am yesterday.
A p-plate driver who blew almost three times the blood-alcohol legal limit the morning after a big night out was lucky not to have hit a pedestrian.
Police were called to a single vehicle crash at Pope Street in Hamilton at 8.30am yesterday.
The 20-year-old man from Albury-Wodonga was on his way to pick up a friend when he ran off the road and collided with a road barrier.
Sergeant Rex Habel, from Hamilton police, said had the rail not been there the man could have hit a pedestrian on the other side of the barrier.
The man had a blood-alcohol reading of .132.
Sergeant Habel said the man didn’t realise he would be over .05 and that it should be a warning to people on how long alcohol remains in their system.
“This person was going to pick up a friend and he didn’t realise he was over,” he said.
“It’s a reminder to anyone who has consumed alcohol to be mindful of residue amounts the next day. If it’s detected they can be prosecuted.
“A pedestrian was on the other side. If that barrier had not been there this pedestrian might have been in the line of the vehicle.”
No one was injured in the crash and the man was released with infringement notices.
In a separate incident in Portland, a night out proved to be a costly exercise for one partygoer after being fined $1126 for drunk and unruly behaviour.
The 19-year-old Portland man was arrested at 1am on Sunday in the CBD and spent the rest of the night in the police cells.
He was fined $563 for being drunk in a public place and $563 for unruly behaviour.
Police have warned that if a person is arrested for a second time for drunk and unruly behaviour the fine could be doubled.
cquirk@fairfaxmedia.com.au
