A man who passed out behind the wheel of a car while high on drugs was fined and convicted in his absence at Orange Local Court on Monday.
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Ethan Vandenberg, 23, said he had a joint of cannabis and one cap of MDMA before getting into a car and driving along Winter Street on August 18.
He stopped the car on the side of the road and passed out.
A witness saw him outside her house at 6.43am but at 8.30am she saw him drive the car about 200 metres up the road before he stopped in the middle of the road and passed out with the keys in the ignition and his foot on the brake.
A group of people went to the car and were banging and yelling but he did not wake up.
Police removed the keys from the ignition through an open window and unlocked the doors.
He appeared to be heavily affected by drugs with dilated pupils and slurred speech.
A blood test was positive for cannabis and MDMA.
Magistrate David Day fined him $1100 and disqualified his driver's licence for 12 months for driving under the influence of illicit drugs.
"It was very dangerous what he was doing," Mr Day said.
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