PHOTO
A Dunedin teenager who took his grandparents’ vehicle for a spin was nearly three times over the legal alcohol limit for an adult, police say.
Sergeant Matt Lee, of Dunedin, said officers were patrolling Green Island about 2am on Saturday when they saw a vehicle stationary on a roundabout.
Police activated their red and blue lights to stop the vehicle, but it accelerated away.
It was found a short time later, this time stopped in the middle of the road.
When police approached the vehicle to speak with the driver, the vehicle accelerated away again.
Police then found it parked down a rural driveway.
“They located a 15-year-old male attempting to hide in the back seat,” Sgt Lee said.
“He was driving his grandparents’ vehicle.”
When tested by police, the teen recorded a breath alcohol level of 731mcg.
The legal limit for an adult is 250mcg of alcohol per litre of breath, but for those aged under 20 it is zero.
The teen was driven home by police and referred to Youth Aid, Sgt Lee said.
It was not the only incident of drink-driving police say the dealt with in the city at the weekend.
Officers were patrolling St Kilda on Sunday morning when, just after midnight, they saw a vehicle swerving in Victoria Rd and narrowly missing other parked vehicles.
Behind the wheel was a 38-year-old man, who admitted to consuming “three bourbons” before driving, Sgt Lee said.
The man recorded a breath alcohol level of 525mcg.
“On investigation, police identified that the male’s vehicle had sideswiped a parked vehicle further up the road.”
The man was summonsed to appear in court at a later date, charged with breath alcohol level over 400mcg and careless driving, Sgt Lee said.
About 8pm on Saturday, a vehicle being driven by a 57-year-old man stopped short of an impairment checkpoint in Castle St.
The man admitted to recent alcohol consumption and recorded a breath alcohol level of 1105mcg - more than four times the limit.
He was summonsed to appear in court at a later date and his driver’s licence was suspended for 28 days.
About 11pm, police stopped a 19-year-old man who admitted to drinking some beer “a lot earlier in the night”, Sgt Lee said.
He recorded a breath alcohol level of 694mcg.
The man was summonsed to appear in court at a later date and had his licence suspended for three months due to having excess demerit points.
At a checkpoint in Cumberland St on Sunday, police stopped a vehicle driven by an 18-year-old about 12.10am.
“After failing his breath screening test, he admitted to consuming approximately seven cans of Cody’s and had been intending to drive to Waimate.”
The man recorded a breath alcohol level of 600mcg and was summonsed to appear in court at a later date, Sgt Lee said.