By Gabriella Payne
A man has been charged by police for multiple offences after being caught speeding on the wrong side of the South Gippsland Highway near Kooweerup in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Officers from the Dandenong Frontline Tactical Unit were monitoring the roads near Kooweerup just after midnight on Saturday 5 June when they observed the man driving erratically on the South Gippsland Highway.
The culprit was clocked driving his black Mitsubishi Pajero on the wrong side of the highway at an alleged speed of 150 kmp/h at about 12.45am.
Police were able to intercept the driver, a 34-year-old Drouin man, near the Pakenham bypass a short time later.
After returning a positive result to a preliminary breath test at the scene, the man was taken to a police station for an evidentiary breath test and was found to be drink-driving, returning an alleged reading of 0.193.
The man’s licence was immediately suspended for 12 months and his car was impounded for 30 days at a cost of $1,050.
He has since been interviewed and charged by police for a number of offences, including reckless conduct endangering life, driving at dangerous speeds, driving in a dangerous manner and other traffic offences.
He has been bailed to appear at the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 8 September.
The driver was also found to be in breach of the directions issued by the chief health officer, which were declared under the state of emergency in Victoria to help stop the spread of Coronavirus, and he is expected to be issued a penalty notice on top of his other charges.
