A man has faced Orange Local Court for driving under the influence of drugs after he was found passed out in a running car.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The car was in drive and had the engine running when he was found slumped over with his foot on the brake at 12.30pm on March 7.
David Luke McGuire, 41, of Phillip Street, was stopped diagonally across a street, driveway and front yard, and appeared to be unconscious but still breathing when people found him and called triple zero when they could not wake him.
According to police, McGuire was still unconscious and his breathing was shallow when the officers arrived so they turned the vehicle off and conducted a hard sternum rub for a few seconds and he woke up.
A breath test returned a negative result to alcohol and McGuire told the police he was medicated with methadone and mental health drug Olanzapine, which is sold under the brand name Zyprexa. He also admitted to smoking cannabis the evening before and denied using any other substances.
However, police reported that his eyes were glazed with pin-point pupils, his speech was slurred and his movements were sluggish.
McGuire struggled to maintain concentration or follow simple directions so he was taken to Orange Hospital for blood and urine testing.
On analysis he was deemed to be under the influence of cannabis and methylamphetamine to the extent his driving ability was impaired.
The test also found him to under the influence of amphetamine, methadone, Olanzapine and pregabalin, which is used for treating epilepsy, anxiety and nerve pain.
Magistrate David Day said the methylamphetamine and cannabis the most concerning but McGuire also should not have driven after taking his prescribed medication.
Mr Day convicted McGuire and placed him on a 12-month Community Correctio Order, he fined him $440 and disqualified his driver's licence for two years.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.centralwesterndaily.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Catch up on our news headlines at Google News