Three days before Christmas in 2023, 28-year-old Matthew O’Kane was driving south on the Goulburn Valley Highway just before 6pm when he ran into the rear of the car in front of him.
One passenger was taken to the Goulburn Valley Hospital as a precaution for neck injuries and the others sustained whiplash.
About an hour later, police clocked O’Kane speeding on Katamatite-Nathalia Rd, Numurkah at 157km/h.
A week later, O’Kane attended Yarrawonga police station where his car had been impounded for one month.
He told police he had been awake for 30 hours and was probably nodding off and losing concentration.
He said while the impact might have woken him up it didn’t feel like “a real thing” and that it “didn’t really happen”.
Defence lawyer Geoff Clancy told the court his client had been going through a difficult time.
He said O’Kane, who was involved with Tungamah Football Club and volunteers I his community, accepted his behaviour was well below what was required of a driver and that he should have stopped.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski said driving after being awake for that long was the same as getting behind the wheel while intoxicated.
“After not sleeping for 30 hours you are a danger on the road,” he told O’Kane.
O’Kane pleaded guilty to a string of charges and was convicted and fined $3000.
His license has been suspended for 12 months.
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