An Adelaide hoon jailed for driving 143km/h over the speed limit has had his beloved Holden Commodore crushed as the state government sends a message to other dangerous drivers.
Tarelle Power Williams was the first South Australian to be jailed after he drove at 253km/h in a 110km/h zone while on his Learners licence earlier this year.
The 20-year-old was sentenced to a year behind bars in July under the state’s new tough hoon driving laws.
After being forced to surrender his Holden Commodore ute following his sentencing, his car has now been crushed by the South Australian government.
Police Minister Joe Szakacs said last year there were 1500 people permanently deprived of their cars.
“About two thirds of those cars were demolished,” he said.
”About a third of all vehicles are sold and that’s because where we can (we want to) extract maximum value from the cars and strip that from hoon drivers.”
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Szakacs said most of the cars that are crushed or stripped for scrap metal are because they’re unroadworthy, like this now crushed Holden Commodore which was defective.
“People choosing to behave like morons on our road are doing so with tonnes of dangerous defective metal around them,” he said.
“A missile that is seconds away from killing someone on our roads.”
Do you do this when you’re queued at roadworks?
Szakacs warned any South Australians considering dangerous driving and excessive speeding will “likely go to jail”.
“If you’re driving with excessive speed the courts now have demonstrated their willingness to lock you up,” he said.
