Lachie Hunter charged with Drink Driving

[azabob]

WESTERN Bulldogs vice-captain Lachie Hunter is set to be charged by police after allegedly fleeing the scene of a crash where he is believed to have hit four parked cars while more than two times the blood alcohol limit on Thursday night.

The 25-year-old's licence was suspended for 12 months, while he was also hit with a $1652 penalty notice for breaching strict social distancing directions in place to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Police arrived at the scene of the crash in Middle Park to find Hunter's damaged SUV which appeared to have collided with four cars around 8.45pm.

When the highway patrol unit arrived, Hunter was nowhere to be seen.

He was later located at a South Yarra address and given a preliminary breath test. A subsequent evidentiary breath test recorded a reading of 0.123 – more than two times the legal limit.

Hunter's car, with damage to the front, was towed from the scene with at least one other vehicle.

Alcohol was found on the front seat of Hunter's car.

Police were unable to provide further detail as to how Hunter got from Middle Park to South Yarra – around 3-4km away – but did confirm no one else was charged in relation to the incident.

Earlier in the night, around 7pm, Hunter posted a photo on social media with a group of friends in a 'Zoom' video teleconferencing call. He appeared to be alone in the image.

Police provided AFL.com.au with a statement in the early hours of Friday morning.

"Prahran Highway Patrol were called to Middle Park Thursday evening following reports a car had crashed into a number of parked cars," the statement read.

"The crash occurred on Wright Street where it's believed a Toyota SUV crashed into four unoccupied parked cars about 8.45pm.

"When police arrived, it was found the driver had left the scene.

"Attending police made follow up enquiries and located the 25-year-old driver at an address in South Yarra.

"The Middle Park man was given a preliminary breath test and a subsequent evidentiary breath test, where he furnished a reading of 0.123."

"The man's licence was immediately suspended for 12 months and it is expected will be charged on summons with drink driving and other traffic matters.

"Whilst committing the offences the man was found to be in breach of the directions issued by the Chief Health Officer, and he was issued a $1652 penalty notice.

"The directions by the Chief Health Officer, under the State of Emergency declared in Victoria, have been enacted to help stop the spread of Coronavirus."

Having served in the Dogs' leadership group since 2018, Hunter was elevated to vice-captain in December under new skipper Marcus Bontempelli.

In March last year Hunter signed a five-year extension to remain with the Dogs until the end of 2024.

Hunter's manager and the Western Bulldogs were contacted for comment.



https://www.afl.com.au/news/391534/s...ving-car-crash

[chef]

What a fvck wit.

[chef]

Stand him down and he can sit out the season when footys back.

[GVGjr]

Incredibly poor decision making. Lets wait to hear the clubs response but with limited information so far it's hard to find a lot of sympathy or understanding for him at the moment.
He's very fortunate that no one appears to have been hurt

[chef]

Hes lucky he didnt kill himself or someone else.

[The Underdog]

Idiot. I’m a fan of Lachie, but this is unbelievably stupid. Out of the leadership group for a start.

[angelopetraglia]

Peter Gordon on SEN radio https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=626844

[Bulldog4life]

Peter Gordon on SEN radio https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=626844

Poor Peter sounded so rattled. What an idiot Hunter is.

[whythelongface]

Words can’t express the disappointment of this selfish act. Why anyone chooses to drink drive in the first instance is beyond me, but even more so in the current environment. What the hell was he thinking.

Sackable offence for mine.

[AndrewP6]

If the reports are accurate, immediate dismissal is the only appropriate sanction. No sympathy.

[comrade]

If the reports are accurate, immediate dismissal is the only appropriate sanction. No sympathy.

Why? He made a mistake, a bad one. Let’s use it as a force for positive teaching/change.

[GVGjr]

Why? He made a mistake, a bad one. Let’s use it as a force for positive teaching/change.

I like the notion of turning a negative into a positive but I'm not sure we have heard the full story yet.
I think there is a bit more to play out here and we haven't heard it all as yet because I think it will involve other players but yes there might be an opportunity to learn from this

[AndrewP6]

Why? He made a mistake, a bad one. Let’s use it as a force for positive teaching/change.

He made a mistake that could have killed people, for his own amusement (ie getting on the grog) when he's supposed to be training for a return. Drink driving is one thing I particularly cannot stand. I don't want our club associated with such selfish idiots. The positive change can be employing people who don't put others lives at risk.

[EasternWest]

Why? He made a mistake, a bad one. Let’s use it as a force for positive teaching/change.

Good lord. How many times are we going to accept this idiotic behaviour and hide behind the "let's turn it into a teaching moment"?

If this were the first player for it to happen to then that's maybe understandable, but I'm sure Lachie has heard and read about all the other exact same teaching moments, and still gone and done it.

He's and idiot and deserves real punishment.

[comrade]

Luke Hodge was one sip over the limit, and didn't lose his licence, yet he copped more shot than most...

Lachie:

- .123% (which would be much higher, having reduced over 3-4 hours. He could've been over .15% - 3 times legal limit)
- Accident with 4 cars while drunk
- Leave the scene of an accident
- Breaching COVID 19 laws, while the rest of are doing the right thing


This to me is much worse than Libba being unconscious with a pill in his pocket. He needs to receive the largest sanction and get dropped from the leadership group. This is about the worst news our club could have right now. The saving grace is he didn't kill anyone, but that was luck.

Good lord. How many times are we going to accept this idiotic behaviour and hide behind the "let's turn it into a teaching moment"?

If this were the first player for it to happen to then that's maybe understandable, but I'm sure Lachie has heard and read about all the other exact same teaching moments, and still gone and done it.

He's and idiot and deserves real punishment.

I prefer to separate the act from the individual. Good people can do stupid things, no one is perfect. What he did was idiotic, and he deserves punishment of course. But he also deserves some compassion and understanding as we have no idea about his particular circumstances.