GDC seeking $56k from drink-driver

carnage: The aftermath of a drink-driving incident in which this Toyota Celica crashed through traffic lights and the city centre end of Peel Street Bridge in July. The driver has pleaded guilty to three charges and is to be sentenced in January. File picture

Gisborne District Council wants $56,000 from a drink-driver who caused the outage of the city's traffic lights at the Peel Street and Palmerston Road intersection.

The intersection has been controlled by a makeshift roundabout since Zacary Te Pairi, 31, crashed his car through the end of the Peel Street Bridge at about 11.30pm on July 17.

Te Pairi was lucky to escape with minimal injuries, the unoccupied passenger side of his car bearing the brunt of the crash before the vehicle came to rest alongside a large tree at the top of a path to the river.

In Gisborne District Court yesterday, Te Pairi pleaded guilty to driving with an excess blood-alcohol level of 193 milligrams (nearly four times the legal limit) and two charges of dangerous driving in relation to the way he operated his vehicle on Peel Street and Palmerston Road.

Counsel Heather Vaughn said Gisborne District Council had flagged $56,000 as the cost of damage to the traffic light system and was seeking it as reparation.

Te Pairi was on a JobSeeker benefit, Ms Vaughn said.

Judge Turitea Bolstad scheduled sentencing for January 12 and further remanded Te Pairi on bail.

The judge ordered a pre-sentence report to traverse the suitability of electronically-monitored sentence options and the issue of the reparation.