MOTORIST BEFORE COURT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 246, 16 September 1929, Page 7

MOTORIST BEFORE COURT.

FINE OF FIFTEEN POUNDS. H. R. Parr, aged 25 years, a carrier, of Tokomaru, was fined £ls by Mr J. L. Stout, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court this morning on a charge of being intoxicated while in charge of a motor truck in King Street on Saturday. His driver’s license was not cancelled on the condition that he immediately takes out a prohibition order. Senior-Sergeant Whitehouse prosecuted and Mr Ongley appeared for defendant, who pleaded guilty. “Defendant was seen to be asleep in his motor truck and was leaning over the steering w’heel,” stated the seniorsergeant. “His cap was lying on the ground and he was under the influence of drink when aroused by two men. He then requested that a motor car should be shifted out of the way of his track and, when this was not done, he drove his vehicle into the back of the car and pushed it out of the way. He was arrested and brought to the police station.” , , , , , Mr Ongley stated that defendant was a carrier between Tokomaru and Palmerston North and had come to town on Saturday morning to have an aching tooth extracted. When that had been done, his jaw had been very painful and he had washed his mouth out with whisky and had had two or three whiskies. He had then carried out some business at an auction mart, but his jaw was still paining and he had come to the conclusion that the wrong tooth had been extracted. After he had finished his business, he had had to wait until 4.30 o’clock before the dentist could again attend to him. Defendant had'said that he had had no more whisky, but had sat in his truck to fill in time and had gone to sleep. The position cf defendant’s truck was such that he could not back it out from the kerb because of a culvert at the rear of it and, when lie was aroused, he had asked a man in front of him to move his car in order to let defendant pull his truck out. This was not done and defendant had simply driven his truck forward a little and had pushed the car a few feet. Unfortunately, defendant had resented being locked up and had made a disturbance. He had asked for a solicitor, but, owing to the fact that it was Saturday afternoon, he had been unable to obtain the services of one. It was quite probablo that, as defendant had had no lunch, the two or three whiskies ho had had were the cause of his going to sleep. Mr Ongley stated that tho truck was defendant’s sole means of livelihood and asked that defendant’s license be not cancelled. Defendant was then fined as stated and was also ordered to pay 6s 6d, the cost of damage done to Government property. Time was allowed in which to pay the fine.