A man who lost control of his car on a central Dunedin street and wiped out two cars and a trailer came out with "one of the daftest explanations" a judge had ever heard.
Tu’uta Motuliki (27) told police his front tyre had blown out, causing him to swerve to the left, but it was his other comments that caused such bewilderment.
"The defendant stated he enjoyed the speed that he was going," a summary of facts said.
He appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to dangerous driving on High St on February 3.
Motuliki was heading down the steep road at 10.30pm when the incident happened.
Judge Philip Connell was unimpressed with the defendant’s blase attitude to his speed and noted the man had now "saddled himself" with a hefty debt.
The car and one of the trailers were written off and the other vehicle also sustained significant damage, resulting in a bill of $11,206.
Defence counsel Alex Bligh said her client, who was employed as a scaffolder, was committed to paying off the sum.
He had brought $200 with him to court and could pay instalments of $100 a week, the court heard.
Motuliki had spent time in prison and had since engaged with Moana House to address his alcohol problem.
Ms Bligh said he was avoiding alcohol and had received a glowing reference from his employer which praised his work ethic and demeanour.
Judge Connell ordered the full reparation amount and sentenced Motuliki to 12months’ supervision with 100 hours’ community work.
The man was banned from driving for seven months.
