Ronald Scott Matthews of Yenda, came before Griffith Local Court charged with mid-range drink driving, driving with a suspended licence and driving recklessly.

According to police documents tendered to the court, Matthews was driving a Toyota HiLux eastbound on the Burley Griffin Way near Cootamundra on his way to Wollongong about 4am on March 19, 2022.

As he approached a left-hand bend Matthews fell asleep and the vehicle veered to the other side of the road into the path of an oncoming truck.

The truck driver made an attempt to avoid a collision, braking heavily and swerving to the right.

However, the truck collided with the HiLux, which eventually came to a rest on the guard rail on the south side of the road.

Cootamundra police attended the scene as the Matthews' HiLux and the truck were blocking the westbound lane.

Police gave Matthews a breath test which returned a positive reading and he was arrested and taken to Cootamundra police station.

A secondary breath test at the station revealed a blood-alcohol reading of 0.12.

IN OTHER NEWS

Matthews told police that he had had a number of drinks before driving, and remembered only approaching the left hand turn before waking to finding himself facing the wrong way.

The court heard from Matthews legal representative Chelsea Connell that he had started drug and alcohol counselling.

Ms Connell said Matthews had actively sought help and after completing the traffic offenders program and described it as a "massive wake-up call".

She said he was employed full-time and was also looking after his nine-year-old daughter.

Ms Connell said Matthews' early guilty plea demonstrated an insight into his actions and the start of his rehabilitation.

"It's not rocket science to know that if you drink and drive you're a danger to the public," Magistrate Trevor Khan said.

"Getting into that car was a conscious decision, putting himself and other road users at risk.

"An aggravating factor is he was suspended in 2017 and was done for driving while suspended."

Mr Khan said road rules were there to ensure the safety of the community and Matthews' actions amounted to "figuratively giving the finger" to the rules and the community.

Matthews was convicted of all three charges and was given an aggregate 12-month intensive corrections order with supervision.

Matthews will be under curfew from 9pm until 7am, to abstain from drugs and alcohol and was fined $2000.

For mid-range drink driving and driving while suspended he was disqualified from driving until May 9, 2023.

For driving recklessly he was disqualified until February 9, 2024, and will have to use an interlock device for two years when he regains his licence.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: