Levi Henare Christos, 19, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to drink-driving.
While he was no longer in the country’s ice hockey team for his age group, he hoped to try out next year.
He based his bid for a discharge without conviction on future sporting opportunities overseas, especially in Canada and a conviction could make travelling difficult.
The court heard that at 3am on April 18, Christos was driving on the Southern Motorway towards the Westland St off-ramp.
The restricted driver had passengers in the car, which was a manual despite his licence condition only to drive automatic.
The defendant lost control of the vehicle and it spun 360°, hitting a concrete barrier before coming to a stop.
He drove a short distance into Westland St and parked the car.
A police officer noticed tyre marks on the road and saw the damaged vehicle with people loading broken parts in the back.
Testing procedures revealed Christos had a breath-alcohol level of 464mcg — the limit for a driver under 20 is zero.
He admitted having a few drinks hours earlier and was unsure how fast he was driving when he crashed.
Counsel Sarah Cochrane yesterday said her client was remorseful, had done a defensive driving course and volunteer work teaching children how to ice-skate.
She said a conviction would hinder the defendant’s ability to travel for future ice hockey opportunities.
Ms Cochrane urged community magistrate Sarah Steele to grant a discharge without conviction.
Ms Steele accepted that pursuing a career in ice hockey would be very difficult for the defendant if he had a conviction.
She granted Christos’ application "by something of a fine margin" and said his youth and inexperience tipped the balance in his favour.
"We expect you to learn from this and move forward with a more mature attitude toward driving."
