A Newport man is facing serious charges after a Newport drink driving incident left him trapped inside a rolled four-wheel drive in the early hours of Saturday morning, requiring firefighters to pull him free from the wreckage.
Emergency services were called to Bardo Road, Newport just after 11:30pm on Friday 3 July, after a black 2024 Land Rover Defender collided with two parked vehicles near the intersection with Nullaburra Road. The vehicles struck were a white 2012 Volkswagen Amarok ute and a white 1995 Toyota Dyna tipper truck. The force of the crash caused the Land Rover to roll over.
What made the initial alert unusual was that the first call to Triple Zero (000) came not from a bystander, but from the driver’s own mobile phone, which had automatically detected the crash and sent an emergency notification. That was quickly followed by calls from members of the public, including nearby residents who came outside after hearing the collision.
Officers from Northern Beaches Police Area Command, along with NSW Ambulance and firefighters from Fire and Rescue NSW’s Mona Vale Station, all responded to the scene. The 63-year-old driver was found standing inside the upturned vehicle but was unable to climb out on his own. Firefighters helped him out, and he was assessed by paramedics complaining of a sore elbow. He was otherwise uninjured.
Police then conducted a roadside breath test, which reportedly returned a positive result. The man was arrested and taken to Mona Vale Police Station, where further testing allegedly recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.155 — placing him well into the high range category under NSW law.
In New South Wales, a blood alcohol concentration above 0.15 constitutes a high range prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA) offence — the most serious drink driving category under state law. For a first offence, this carries a maximum fine of $3,300 and a prison sentence of up to 18 months, along with mandatory licence disqualification.
The 63-year-old Newport man was charged with high range PCA under Section 110(5) of the Road Transport Act. His driver licence was suspended on the spot, and he was issued a Court Attendance Notice to appear before Manly Local Court in August 2026.
A tow truck was called to right the overturned Land Rover, which was then removed from Bardo Road. The damaged tipper truck proved harder to clear — police were unable to reach its owner, meaning it had to remain at the scene until contact was made.
Published 6-July-2026
