Judge sentences defiant suspended driver over Auckland and Nelson incidents

A man who crashed his Triumph motorbike into a car at a busy Auckland intersection, leaving his pillion passenger at the scene, was soon found by police as he tried to hide behind rubbish bins at the Ōrākei Marina.

Later on, in a separate incident after being caught driving while suspended, Ashlee Daniel Broomfield told police he was "driving my pregnant missus".

In the Nelson District Court, Judge Jo Rielly told Broomfield it would be hard to imagine a suspended driver who had broken the rules more than him.

On one occasion last year, when already suspended from driving, he drove to the Nelson Police Station and parked his vehicle in the Corrections Services parking lot.

The 36-year-old was sentenced this week to 160 hours of community work, six months of community detention and was disqualified from driving for nine months on a list of offences that dated back to July 2022, when he crashed his motorbike into the side of a car.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving and failing to give particulars, possession of an offensive weapon and drugs charges, plus a charge of driving while suspended for a third or subsequent time.

This week Broomfield pleaded guilty to a recent, subsequent charge of driving while suspended on a third or subsequent time.

It was just before 10pm on 29 July, 2022, when Broomfield was riding his Triumph on Auckland's Tāmaki Drive, with a woman riding pillion.

As he approached the intersection of Tāmaki Drive and Ngapipi Rd, Broomfield overtook two vehicles waiting to turn right.

He ran into the side of one of the vehicles with two people in it as the car was turning right when the light turned green.

Broomfield and his passenger were thrown from the motorbike. He then said several words to the pair in the car before fleeing the scene without giving any details, leaving his passenger behind.

Broomfield continued down Tāmaki Drive on the wrong side of the road for about 100 metres and then tried to hide behind a large rubbish bin at the Ōrākei Marina.

He later told police he fled the scene out of panic.

Judge Rielly said the statement from the vehicle driver revealed a young person, in their early 20s, who had been grateful to learn it was not their fault but also frightened by what happened and more concerned for the safety of Broomfield and his passenger.

The driver was also annoyed Broomfield hadn't stayed at the scene as an ambulance was called.

Two months later, Broomfield was charged with possession of an offensive weapon after police found a machete in his car. They also discovered a pipe used for smoking methamphetamine but were later satisfied it didn't belong to him.

In December 2022, police searched his Auckland home and found a small amount of meth and cannabis.

On 4 May last year, Broomfield, already a suspended driver, was driving on Nelson's St John St, where the Nelson Police Station is situated. He was seen on a police camera parking in the Corrections Department carpark before he walked into the police station.

After he was served with another suspension notice in December last year, he was caught driving on 8 January and again on 17 January when he told police he was "driving his pregnant missus".

"It's difficult to imagine a person suspended from driving who then breaks the road rules more than you," Judge Rielly said.

She noted the reason for the delay in sentencing was that Broomfield had repeatedly promised to provide information to various agencies in his bid to reduce penalties on his driving charges, and in the meantime, he had reoffended.

Broomfield asked the judge if she had taken note of the good things he had done. Judge Rielly said some things were positive but on the whole, Broomfield seemed to think he was "a law unto himself" when getting behind the wheel and that was a concern.

He received cumulative sentences on all charges, except for failing to remain at the accident scene and the drugs charge, for which he was convicted and discharged.

This story was first published by the New Zealand Herald.