A disappointed father has successfully sued his own son after he wrote off the family truck in a drunken rollover outside of Darwin.
Dennis Bamblett’s son John borrowed the truck on August 21, and then allowed his friend Dylan Taft to drive it after the two had been drinking.
Dylan, who had previously been ‘like a family member’ to the Bambletts, veered off the Arnhem Highway and rolled the vehicle.
Mr Bamblett lent his truck to his son John, who allowed his friend Dylan to drive while drunk
After a night of bar-hopping, Dylan drove while drunk, veered off the road and rolled the car
The truck was written off, and the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal awarded Mr Bamblett $16,000 in compensation.
The court heard that Dylan was initially keen to repay Mr Bamblett for the vehicle, but then his willingness ‘dissipated’.
Mr Bamblett had an agreement with his son that he was allowed to borrow the ute ‘but only on the condition that he had not been drinking’, according to news.com.au.
Mr Bamblett noted that he had not given permission to Dylan to be behind the wheel.
Bamblett had an agreement with his son that he was allowed to borrow the ute if he didn’t drink
John and Dylan admitted to bar-hopping in Darwin before taking the truck on an ‘impromptu hunting trip’.
Both of the boys blame the other; Dylan said that John ‘insisted’ he drove, while John said he ‘didn’t even know’ how Dylan got the keys to the vehicle.
However, they both agreed that they were ‘intoxicated and over the legal blood alcohol limit for driving’ on the night.
The boys are ordered to pay $8,000 apiece to Mr Bamblett for writing off the family vehicle
Dylan, who was drink-driving at the time, is disqualified from driving until at least March 2018
Tribunal member Mark O’Reilly said that it doesn’t really matter who had the idea: ‘Together they chose to go driving in (the Bambletts’) car when they were both unfit to drive.’
‘I am confident that if either of them had determinedly refused to go, they would not have gone at all.’
The boys are ordered to pay $8000 apiece to Mr Bamblett and Dylan is disqualified from driving until March 2018.