Drunk driver flips car, cracks another beer while waiting for rescue

[nibbler]

Report: Drunk New Zealand driver opens another beer as he lies trapped in smashed car

Published: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 | 9:50 PM ET

Canadian Press The Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Trapped after flipping his car while drunk driving, a New Zealand man opened another beer as he waited to be rescued.

Paul Nigel Sneddon, 47, pleaded guilty to careless driving and drunken driving in a district court in the North Island city of Palmerston North, the Dominion Post newspaper reported Wednesday.

Sneddon failed to take a corner on June 1, crashed through a wooden barrier, and flipped his car onto its roof.

The newspaper quoted defence lawyer Peter Young as telling the court when Sneddon found he could not open the doors, "he had nothing else to do at that point, so he had another beer."

When police found him trapped in the vehicle his breath-alcohol level was 1,191 micrograms — nearly three times the legal limit of 400 micrograms.

Prosecutor police Sgt. Ollie Outtrim told the court Sneddon went on a drinking bender after losing his job at a bakery.

Asked by an officer how much alcohol he had consumed, Sneddon replied: "'Plenty. I've been drinking for four days straight,' adding he had just lost his job in a local bakery," Outtrim was quoted as saying.

Judge Gregory Ross fined Sneddon 1,100 New Zealand dollars ($776) and disqualified him from driving for 10 months.

Link to source

[Velvet]

That sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

[nibbler]

Agreed - poor guy - rough luck.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

BELLEAIR BEACH, Fla. - A man who apparently passed out on a pool float at a Tampa area beach ended up drifting about a mile from Florida's shore in the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the man on Wednesday afternoon.

Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Mariana O'Leary told the St. Petersburg Times they suspect the man was very drunk.

The Coast Guard says a boater reported seeing an unconscious man floating well offshore. The Coast Guard and a Clearwater Fire Rescue unit responded and found the man, still unconscious and wearing a life jacket.

He eventually woke up and was checked by paramedics at a Coast Guard station.

O'Leary said the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office will investigate the incident.

[SaggyBalls]

I wonder how else OZ is more laid back than Canada

Under a grand worth of fines and a 10 month suspension?

Pretty easy.

[hamilton]

I wonder how else OZ is more laid back than Canada

Under a grand worth of fines and a 10 month suspension?

Pretty easy.

Last time I checked, New Zealand wasn't in Oz.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

'Police have seized a burger van that was used to peddle porn in an East Yorkshire town. Customers were offered a free pornographic DVD if they spent more than £5 on beer and burgers at the takeaway in Driffield. Two men were bailed pending further investigations in the undercover operation by police and licensing officers. Police swooped on the van following tip-offs from the public. It is also claimed the burger van, which operated from a garden in Cranwell Road, was not licensed to sell hot food and alcohol. That area of Driffield is popular with young revellers attending late-night bars and clubs at the weekend.

'Sergeant Dave Jenkins, of the Driffield Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "The van had been operating for about two weeks. We received complaints that free porn DVDs were being offered to everyone who spent £5 or more on beer and burgers. Undercover officers made test purchases and found this to be true before Saturday night's operation when the caravan was seized. We won't tolerate this because youngster could have been given the DVDs."

'Police said the two men were bailed to a later date while officers decide what offences have been committed and what charges they will face. Confiscated DVDs have been passed to East Riding Council's trading standards department. Police licensing officer PC Carolyn Grundy said: "Porn was being played on a TV inside the caravan when we arrived on Saturday night. It is unbelievable customers were being offered porn DVDs with their beer and burgers at an outlet that did not even have the necessary licences. The operation went well and we are now looking at the evidence to see what offences have been committed" - Hull Daily Mail.