A Dubbo man who was drunk and behind the wheel of a vehicle that crashed into a truck last September on Boothenba Road is facing possible jail time after being committed to Dubbo District Court for sentencing.
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There were seven people in the BMW sedan which hurtled into the middle axle of the truck on the evening of September 17, 2009.
At the time of the accident, the road was wet and the driver of the vehicle, Byron Eulo, later said in a statement he attempted to brake but the wheels did not lock up.
One of the passengers suffered serious injuries while rescue squad service volunteers were required to remove the trapped driver.
Eulo, 20, appeared before Magistrate Howard Hamilton in Dubbo Local Court this week on charges of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, which carries a maximum of 11 years, high-range prescribed concentration of alcohol, driving an unregistered vehicle and driving an uninsured vehicle.
Eulo pleaded guilty to the charges and police facts were tendered to the court for Magistrate Hamilton to read.
The facts stated that on the day of the crash, Eulo had been drinking at a residence in Galloway Drive before he, and six others, decided to go to another residence.
They took a maroon BMW without the permission of its owner and the weight of the load forced the car to ‘scrape’ along Yarrandale Road.
The vehicle was travelling at a considerable speed and at the time of the incident alcohol was being consumed in the car.
At the same time a semi-trailer was turning right from Boothenba Road onto Yarrandale Road however, when Eulo was unable to negotiate the T-intersection the BMW collided with the middle axle of the truck.
The six passengers in the car all managed to free themselves from the wreckage however, Eulo was trapped inside the vehicle for a considerable period of time.
Five ambulances as well as rescue personnel attended the scene with all of the passengers taken to hospital with varying injuries.
Most of them were later released however, one of the passengers suffered a broken arm as well as fractures to a vertebrae and his jaw as a result of the collision.
Later in the evening, police took a blood analysis from Eulo which returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.244.
The facts also stated that he told an ambulance officer he had been travelling too fast at the time of the accident.
A considerable amount of damage was done to both vehicles, with the owner of the uninsured BMW seeking compensation while repairs to the trailer of the truck cost in excess of $14,000.
Magistrate Hamilton accepted Eulo’s pleas and ordered the matter be sent to Dubbo District Court on August 23.
He also ordered a pre-sentence report to be completed.
