ALCOHOL HEALTHWATCH
Brett David Ward had been in Richmond. (File photo)
Drunk, riding through Richmond on his bicycle, Brett David Ward spotted an unlocked truck. Slinging his bike in the back, he drove it to Tāhunanui, where police caught him after a near miss with another vehicle.
Ward, who appeared in the Nelson District Court on Monday, had admitted charges of driving while disqualified and drink-driving.
According to the police summary of facts, read in court, Ward, 54, had a history of driving while drunk and disqualified.
At around 12.30pm on18 April 2023, Ward was riding his bicycle along Gladstone Rd, Richmond. Passing a plumbing supplies store, he spotted an Isuzu Elf truck, unlocked and with the keys in the ignition, by the store’s rear gate.
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Ward put his bike into the back of the vehicle and drove it away. An hour later, police spotted the truck in Tāhunanui, where it pulled out in front of another vehicle, narrowly avoiding a collision.
“As the vehicle drove past police the driver appeared intoxicated,” the summary said.
When police caught up with Ward nearby, he admitted to consuming alcohol and not having a driver’s licence.
A breath test returned a reading of 1541 micrograms per litre of breath, more than six times the legal limit of 250mcg.
Judge Richard Russell reprimanded Ward for the high level of intoxication.
“The level of alcohol in your system driving this truck was very high, indeed, one of the highest levels I have seen in some time.”
Ward was remanded on bail, and ordered not to drive a vehicle until the matter had been dealt with in court, and until Ward had a “valid driver’s licence in your hand,” Judge Russell said.
Ward has also been charged with unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, but has yet to enter a plea.