A provisional driver who got behind the wheel of a car, collided with a road island and fell asleep after a night of drinking has been convicted of high-range drink driving.
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Andrew Skully, 25, appeared before Dubbo Local Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to high-range drink driving.
The 25-year-old contract electrician at the Wellington Solar Farm had been working for 13 days and decided to attend a party, before getting behind the wheel of a car, the court heard.
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Emergency services were called to Cobra Street at the entrance of the Orana Mall in Dubbo about 5.30am on October 18 after reports Skully was sleeping inside a Toyota Corolla after it had collided with the road's island.
As police arrived, NSW Ambulance paramedics were treating him for possible injury. Skully had informed police he was the driver of the vehicle and revealed he held a provisional licence.
Court documents revealed as police spoke with Skully it appeared he was sluggish, somewhat uncoordinated and the smell of alcohol was apparent.
Police noted his face was flushed, his eyes were glazed and his speech was drawn and slurred.
Skully was arrested and taken to Dubbo Police Station where he returned a positive breath analysis reading of 0.187.
Skully's defence lawyer argued he had been working at the solar farm for 13 days-straight when he attended the party, but had no intention of driving straight away.
"He had gone to sleep ... It wasn't his intention to drive straight away," Skully's defence said.
"His instructions were that he was awoken and more alcohol was consumed.
"He then took it upon himself to leave, and clearly that was the wrong decision.
"He says when he got in the car he was trying to get out of that environment and go home."
The court heard Skully's defence call the facts "concerning", in that he had momentarily lost control of the vehicle after dozing off, however argued this had been a combination of fatigue and alcohol.
The defence agreed his reading was high, but said there was great need for his licence as a tradesman working in Wellington.
"For a P-plater that's high," Skully's defence told the court.
"He's very embarrassed and very remorseful for what he's done."
The court heard Skully had also completed the PCYC traffic offenders program.
"He said to me that everybody should do that course, it was quite confronting the things he saw," the defence told the court.
Magistrate Malcolm MacPherson convicted Skully and sentenced him to a 13-month community corrections order.
He was also disqualified from driving for the minimum period of six months.