JOLENE OGLE
A Sunshine Coast father of two pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and wilful damage in Noosa Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The court heard Bryan Richard Eaton, 29, suffered a stress-related episode before driving his Toyota Hilux utility on the wrong side of the road around blind corners on Browns Creek Rd, just south of North Arm. Police Prosecutor Jamie Baker said that when witnesses tried to stop Eaton’s vehicle, he did a u-turn and travelled back along the road, on the wrong side. Thirty-one metal posts were flattened along a 2km stretch of road and six wheelie bins were damaged by Eaton’s vehicle, Sgt Baker said. Eaton’s defence lawyer said his client suffers from an anxiety and stress-related disorder but, while he has an “impediment”, Eaton acknowledges he is responsible for the damage and has already paid council for the replacement of the wheelie bins. Magistrate Bernadette Callaghan ordered Eaton to undergo a medical and psychiatric assessment, placed him on 12 months’ probation and suspended his driver’s licence for nine months.
