A drug-affected driver who crashed into another vehicle on a "moderately busy" Sydney road was convicted when he faced Orange Local Court.
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Joshua Robert Barrett, 19, of Icely Road, crashed into the back of a BMW in Surry Hills just before 9pm on July 10.
According to information presented to the court, the driver of the BMW was stopped at a red light at an intersection and Barrett failed to notice the red light when he ran up the back of the other car.
The BMW flagged down police at 8.55pm and Barrett got out of his car but was slouched over the driver's door.
He produced a provisional driver's licence and had visible red marks on his face and neck.
According to police, Barrett could not maintain conversation, could not comprehend a basic direction from police or competently answer questions.
His speech was also slurred and slow.
The police decided to conduct a sobriety test but when he was asked to walk in a straight line he swayed and stumbled over his feet and consistently lost his balance and held onto his car to maintain his balance and coordination.
As a result police thought he was under the influence of drugs so arrested him and took him to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for blood and urine analysis.
Barrett returned positive results for cannabis and anti-anxiety drug etizolam.
Solicitor Mason Manwaring said Barrett was a second-year apprentice carpenter who lived out of town where there was no public transport.
"Given the penalty is the same as a high-range [drink-driving] penalty your Honour, it's a serious matter," Mr Manwaring said.
He said Barrett did have a prior matter on his record from 2019 that related to cannabis and resulted in a conditional release order without a conviction that he did not breach.
Magistrate David Day convicted Barrett, disqualified his driver's licence for six months and placed him on a 12-month community correction order for driving under the influence of drugs.
He also fined him $440 for negligent driving.
Mr Day said the crash was not serious but it was still a crash.
He said it was lightly raining, it was nighttime and traffic on the multi-lane road was moderately heavy by Sydney standards.
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