A MILLICENT man has avoided imprisonment after he crashed his car into the local skate park while driving almost five times over the legal limit.
Matti Kapulainen, 39, appeared in the Millicent Magistrates Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to two counts of drink driving and one count of driving without due care.
The first count related to an incident on March 17 when the defendant was pulled over by police for a driver screening test after his vehicle was observed driving out of a Millicent bottle shop.
He produced a positive blood alcohol reading of .295 and was issued with a 12 month instant loss of licence.
Magistrate Teresa Anderson said the reading was one of the highest she had seen in the region.
“Some people are comatose at this level,” she said.
“At this level, your ability to control a vehicle is compromised.”
Around two months later, at 7.20am on May 13, the defendant was sighted driving “well in excess” of the speed limit on Ridge Terrace at Millicent.
The prosecution told the court a witness reported Kapulainen’s vehicle travelling at high speeds before it “leaped” through the air and ended up on the Millicent Skate Park.
The witness said the defendant appeared “out of it and groggy” as his Holden sedan came to rest in the centre of the concrete structure.
Police and SA Ambulance Service officers attended the scene and the defendant was subjected to a driver screening test.
He produced a positive blood alcohol reading of .238.
Kapulainen’s lawyer said her client had “not eaten for days” and “woke up feeling depressed”.
She added Kapulainen decided to drive because he thought his driving disqualification from March 17 did not start until he had appeared in court.
The three driving offences were in breach of an 18-month suspended sentence bond in relation to an aggravated assault in October last year.
Mental health issues were highlighted in the defence and Magistrate Anderson took this into account when sentencing Kapulainen.
“It is obvious your mental health was precarious at the time,” she said.
“You were at risk not only to yourself, but also to everyone else on the road.
“The question is, will your suspended sentence be revoked?
“The offending is not trivial.
“You are fortunate no one was in your way while you were driving in a drunk and distressed way.
“The fact your mental health was so poor, a term of imprisonment will not be imposed.”
Magistrate Anderson added the recent offences were of a different nature to those which prompted the suspended sentence.
Kapulainen was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond, which would start following the expiry of his current bond.
He was also placed under supervision of a corrections officer and was advised to seek appropriate alcohol and mental health treatment.
For his first drink driving offence, Kapulainen was fined $1600 and received a driver’s licence disqualification of two years and six months.
He was issued an order of forfeiture for his vehicle and a $1133.90 impound fee.
For Kapulainen’s second offences, which included driving without due care and drink driving, he was fined $1600.
He also received a further three year driving disqualification, culminating a total five years and six months loss of licence.
