Two dopey youths stole a golf cart and drove it across country before getting stuck on a bridge.
The disastrous duo pinched the electric cart from the posh Millbrook golf course near Arrowtown at about 11am last Saturday.
They drove it about seven kilometres along the scenic Queenstown Trail towards Queenstown.
“They abandoned the cart when it got stuck on the wooden bollards on the old Shotover Bridge,” senior constable Sean Drader says.
The youths are described as about 18. One was wearing a red beanie and a white shirt, the other a light-blue jacket and a cap.
Drink driver hits police car
A stone mason faces four serious driving charges after a short chase around Queenstown’s town centre.
The Glenorchy man was eventually stopped when he allegedly crashed into a patrol car on Ballarat Street shortly after 1am on Sunday.
The 24-year-old gave a breath alcohol reading of 991 micrograms per litre of breath – more than double the limit.
The Mitsubishi car was spotted on Camp St overtaking a taxi, which had given way at a crossing to pedestrians, before heading along the wrong side of the road.
Officers attempted to stop the vehicle on Church St but it sped past them. They followed it with lights and sirens on. It performed a U-turn in Athol St before crashing into the side of the police car.
The driver was charged with drink driving, dangerous driving, failing to stop and failing to remain stopped. The car was impounded.
Snap happy tourist
Queenstown’s scenery may be spectacular but police still want tourists to keep their eyes on the road.
A Timaru driver was spotted weaving across the road near the Kawarau Gorge while taking pictures at 6.15pm on Sunday.
The 42-year-old man crossed over the white line several times and tailgated the car in front while snapping about 20 shots. He will receive a summons for careless driving.
“Highway patrol officers have taken to photographing people crossing the lines because it is a known leading cause of accidents,” Drader says.
“We get complaints of people driving badly along these windy roads all the time, for all sorts of different reasons.” Aussie loses the plot
An Australian man lost the plot and kicked a car after being honked at.
The 33-year-old restaurant manager was charged with wilful damage and disorderly behaviour.
A motorist had honked at him as he was walking down the middle of Beach St at 8.15pm on Sunday.
“It appears he’d had an altercation with a man outside a pub and then walked up the street,” Drader says.
“The car honked its horn, so he kicked it. He became loud and abusive and was arrested.”
Ute in the drink
Two incidents involving trailers left their owners counting the cost this week.
Workers for vegetation management firm Asplundh watched in anguish as their Toyota Hilux rolled off a bank and into Lake Wakatipu.
The men were working along Frankton Track last Wednesday. It is thought the handbrake was not on, Drader says.
Frankton Road resident and witness Huw Clarkson says he watched from his balcony after hearing a disturbing noise from his lounge.
“There was a ute floating in the lake ... then it sank from view and there were a couple of workers standing there looking pretty foolish.”
Asplundh Queenstown area manager Rob Slater says no one was hurt, adding the ute was recovered the same day and is now operational again.
In another incident a car towing a trailer full of top soil crashed on Frankton-Ladies Mile. The trailer spun around as the vehicle approached Shotover Bridge after leaving the nearby garden centre. It crashed into a bank.
No one was injured in this incident either.
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