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A drink-driver who killed a champion triathlete in 2014 has avoided imprisonment after causing chaos on the roads again.
Joseph Francis Haenga (46) appeared in the Invercargill District Court last week on charges of drink-driving and dangerous driving from February this year.
In 2014, the defendant hit endurance athlete Brynt McSwain on a road in Perth, Western Australia, before crashing into a power pole.
McSwain had been cycling home from his work as a firefighter and died as a result of the collision.
ABC News reported Haenga claimed he may have fallen asleep at the wheel because he had done a series of night shifts, but he refused to undergo a breath test in the aftermath.
This time, Haenga’s breath alcohol level was more than four times the drink-driving limit.
The defendant was working in Wellington on February 23 when he had drinks with friends.
He then drove on State Highway 2 in a manner so concerning that members of the public reported it to police.
The defendant was weaving across lanes and almost hitting barriers on the sides of the road, the court heard.
Later in the night he exited Western Hutt Rd over Melling Bridge to Central Lower Hutt — an area dense with houses and businesses.
The court heard he was speeding and swerving into oncoming traffic, forcing other road users to take evasive action to avoid collisions.
At a red light, he drove into the back of a vehicle, reversed and then rear-ended it a second time.
Haenga’s vehicle was mildly damaged in the crash, but nobody was injured.
The defendant was pulled over in Oxford Tce, where he completed a breath test which gave a breath alcohol level of 1092mcg.
The legal limit is 250mcg.
In explanation, Haenga told police he just had "a couple of beers after work".
Counsel Jono Ross described this as an "out of character, spur-of-the-moment decision" on the part of the defendant.
Judge Catriona Doyle sentenced Haenga to 12 months’ intensive supervision and 80 hours’ community work, disqualified him for 28 days, an alcohol-interlock licence following that, and ordered him to pay $500 reparation.
- Felicity Dear, PIJF court reporter