A man who told police he was hit by a car near Manildra while walking from Orange to Parkes found himself back at his original starting point after asking for an ambulance to take him to hospital.
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Andrew Mervyn Eggleton, 45, of Currong Crescent, was not present when he was sentenced in Orange Local Court on Monday for drug possession.
According to police, Eggleton was subject to several calls to emergency services from witnesses who saw him walking through Manildra past the flour mill at 11.30am on October 24, 2021.
The witnesses said he was walking along the edge of the road and he appeared to be affected by drugs.
Another call was received about one kilometre west of Manildra at 11.40am saying Eggleton appeared to be limping along the edge of the roadway.
The witness stopped to help and he threw himself on the ground claiming to have been hit by another vehicle.
Police arrived on scene a short time later and found him nursing a backpack and matching the description of the man from the earlier calls.
He told the police he had left his home in Orange and was walking to Parkes for his daughter's birthday party.
Eggleton also told the police he had been hit by a passing car that had been travelling at 100km/h just before the police arrived.
However, according to the police he did not have any obvious injuries consistent with a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle going that speed.
They also noticed he was behaving erratically, was moving his jaw from side to side and rolling his eyes a lot.
Due to his behaviour, observations and his history, police told him they would search him. Inside his bag was a sunglasses case containing a resealable bag containing methylamphetamine that weighed a total of 0.8 grams, as well as 2.1 grams of cannabis. Drug paraphernalia and razor blades were also seized.
Paramedics from NSW Ambulance arrived a short time later, assessed him for injuries and Eggleton requested to be taken to Parkes Hospital.
According to police he appeared to be visibly frustrated when the paramedics told him they were taking him back to Orange Hospital to have grazes on his knee treated.
Police helped in the back of the ambulance due to his erratic behaviour and during the trip he confirmed the drugs were "ice" and "pot" but claimed he was keeping the drugs for another person and would get into trouble for losing them.
Shortly after he arrived at the hospital he left saying he would find another way to get to Parkes.
Magistrate David Day convicted Eggleton in his absence and fined him a total of $440, $220 for the cannabis and $220 for the methylamphetamine.
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