Teenager fined for drunken crash into power pole in Albany three months after losing licence for drink-driving

An Albany teenager who crashed his car in McKail while driving at more than three-times the legal alcohol limit had already lost his licence for drink-driving three months earlier. Sebastian Frederick Russ, 19, faced Albany Magistrate’s Court last Thursday after entering guilty pleas to the charges of driving under the influence and driving on a suspended licence. Police prosecutor Sgt Alan Dean told the court Russ was travelling along Lancaster Road in McKail at 1.35am on Friday, September 2, when his Ford Falcon veered off the road. Over-correcting his mistake, Russ crossed on to the opposite side of the road and crashed into a power pole. Police officers who attended the crash breath-tested the driver, who returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.168. The drunken crash came exactly three months after Russ had his licence suspended by the court on June 2 for a previous drink-driving offence. Defence lawyer Lucy Bourne said her client “understands the seriousness of the offence and the risk to the community” and had lost his job because of the incident. She said Russ regretted his actions and planned to move away from Albany to the north of WA. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said Russ was lucky he had not injured himself or anyone else in the crash. In reference to the teenager’s plans to leave Albany, Ms Scaddan said relocating to a smaller town would not necessarily remove the need to travel by car. “I suggest that fresh start doesn’t involve driving a car,” she said. Russ was fined $2400 for the DUI charge and had his licence disqualified for a further 18 months. That is the minimum penalty for someone convicted of their first DUI offence after a previous excess 0.08 offence. For the charge of no authority to drive, he received an additional nine-month licence disqualification and a $400 fine.