South West man four times over blood-alcohol limit gets road ban for more than two years after crash in Harvey

A South West man has been banned from the roads for more than two years after rolling his vehicle on Harvey’s main street while four times over the legal blood-alcohol limit. Matthew Blechynden, 43, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol when he faced Harvey Magistrates Court last week in relation to the incident earlier this year. The court was told the man from Cookernup was driving his Toyota LandCruiser along Third Street in the South West town in the early afternoon of June 30 when he lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle then flipped, but the man escaped without any major injuries. Prosecuting officer Sen. Const. Darren Grigson said Blechnynden was “incapable” of driving and was later found to have had a blood-alcohol concentration level of 0.22, which is equal to four times over the legal drinking limit. Sen. Const. Grigson told the court Blechynden had clearly lost control of his vehicle, which caused the crash to occur. In sentencing Blechnynden, Magistrate Linda Keane said no one was able to accommodate road users when their blood-alcohol level was so high. “You are not the only road user and posed a risk to yourself and others,” she said. The court was told Blechynden had since been seeing a general practitioner and psychiatrist. Blechynden had his licence disqualified for two years and six months. He was also fined $2100 and ordered to pay court costs and analyst fees of $1500. Penalties for drink-driving with a blood-alcohol content level over 0.15 in WA range from a minimum 15-month driving ban and $2050 fine to a life disqualification from driving and an $11,250 fine.