AFL star Ben Cousins’ license suspended over horror crash

A disheveled looking Ben Cousins has had his driver’s license disqualified and been fined $1200 over a head-on car crash he caused while high on methamphetamine.

The 39-year-old former AFL champion appeared in a Perth magistrates court with a shaggy beard and shoulder-length hair on Wednesday over the horror 2016 crash.

Cousins, who in March was sentenced to a year in jail for stalking his ex-partner and breaching a violence restraining order taken out by her, was told by a magistrate he was lucky not to have killed someone when he crashed into the truck while on drugs.

Ben Cousins (pictured) has had his driver’s license disqualified and been fined $1200 over a head-on car crash he caused while high on methamphetamine in 2016 (Stock image)

The 39-year-old former AFL champion appeared in a Perth magistrates court with a shaggy beard and shoulder-length hair on Wednesday over the horror 2016 crash

The 39-year-old former AFL champion appeared in a Perth magistrates court with a shaggy beard and shoulder-length hair on Wednesday over the horror 2016 crash

The former West Coast Eagles premiership player and one-time captain had his license disqualified and was fined $1200 on Wednesday.

He was also ordered to pay $2295 in chemical analysis fees from the crash, which he spent three-and-a-half days in hospital for afterwards.

The court heard Cousins had 0.075mg of methamphetamine per litre of blood in his system at the time of the car crash, which the police prosecutor said was well above the level where a driver could concentrate.

‘It is lucky no one was killed,’ the officer said.

The Brownlow medallist also had 0.07mg/l of amphetamine in his system.

Mr Tudori said the crash happened when Cousins had a heavy drug addiction and depression over not being able to see his children, with the restraining order being the trigger that sent him on a downward spiral.

‘This offence is all part of the series of offences he’s imprisoned for,’ the lawyer said.

He said there had been many positive changes in Cousins’ life for the first time in many years, including him acknowledging his drug addiction.

Cousins (pictured) is currently serving a one-year jail sentence for stalking and breaking a VRO against his former partner, who is also the mother of his two children

Cousins (pictured) is currently serving a one-year jail sentence for stalking and breaking a VRO against his former partner, who is also the mother of his two children

Cousins was up for release in August, but his potential parole was delayed when results from a failed drug test were revealed two weeks prior

Cousins was up for release in August, but his potential parole was delayed when results from a failed drug test were revealed two weeks prior

Mr Tudori told the court Cousins had ‘taken and embraced’ a job offer from his old employer but would not elaborate when quizzed by reporters.

Cousins would live with his parents when he was released, the lawyer said.  

It comes after Cousins had his potential release delayed in August, when results of a failed prison drug test came back just two weeks before he was eligible for parole.

As such he cannot be released until he completes rehabilitation courses which his lawyer, Michael Tudori, said had taken too long to start. 

Despite the incident, his lawyer said at the time that the disgraced former sportsman was ‘drug-free and in positive spirits’. 

 

 

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