MARLEY William Copeland has been ordered to pay a fine of $1800, after the unlicensed rider smashed his trail bike into a parked car in Hill Street last year wMarhile he was drunk.
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Copeland 30, pleaded guilty to high range PCA and was disqualified from driving for 12 months in Orange Local Court on Monday.
In evidence presented to the court, police said they found bloodstains on the road near the badly-damaged vehicle and tracked Copeland down after he went to hospital for treatment for a knee injury, which required surgery.
While he was recovering, blood tests were carried out at the hospital and Copeland was found to have a blood alcohol reading of 0.161, putting him in the high range category.
Copeland crashed into the vehicle while riding his unregistered trail bike at 12.39am on May 25 last year.
However, when he was interviewed by police, Copeland said he had crashed into a tree in Matthews Avenue, which had damaged his bike.
Police inspected trees in Matthews Avenue but could find no signs of a collision.
Copeland’s Legal Aid solicitor Peter Ringbauer said his client had expressed concerns to him over the length of time between the accident and when blood samples were taken.
Mr Ringbauer said his client had relocated to Queensland since the accident.
“He needs his licence for work and to be able to take his children to school,” he said.
“He is much more mature now and has learned a lot from this experience.”
Mr Ringbauer said his client had never had a driving offence before and he wanted to put the experience behind him.
Magistrate Terry Lucas told Copeland if he could not come up with the $1800 to pay the court fine within 28 days he had to make special arrangements with the court officers.
