ISSUE
Friday, August 15, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 72
A man who was driving a getaway car after stealing beer worth about $300 in Dunedin last year and crashed into a pole, killing one person, pleaded guilty on March 5, 2024.
Robert Francis Taylor told the Dunedin District Court he was drinking with his four friends on May 27, 2023, when they ran out of beer and decided to steal some from Hillside Rd Bottle-O.
The group stole a Mazda Axela and drove to the store, where they used bolt cutters to steal six crates of beer totaling about $300.
The 30-year-old then got behind the wheel and drove away with his friends keeping the headlights of the getaway vehicle switched off, which caught the attention of police officers in a patrol car nearby, who then gave a chase.
Taylor stepped on the pedal trying to outdo the police car but ran into a pole at Melbourne Street in St Kilda suburb of Dunedin, reportedly traveling at the speed of 90km/h. Michael John McClelland, 26, who was sitting in the back seat died on the spot. Three others sustained injuries, while Taylor managed to escape only to be caught later
The police later reported Taylor's blood alcohol reading at 153 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, nearly three times what is permitted. Taylor was on Tuesday remanded in police custody, awaiting his sentencing in June.
A man who was driving a getaway car after stealing beer worth about $300 in Dunedin last year and crashed into a pole, killing one person, pleaded guilty on March 5, 2024.
Robert Francis Taylor told the Dunedin District Court he was drinking with his four friends on May 27, 2023, when they ran out...
A man who was driving a getaway car after stealing beer worth about $300 in Dunedin last year and crashed into a pole, killing one person, pleaded guilty on March 5, 2024.
Robert Francis Taylor told the Dunedin District Court he was drinking with his four friends on May 27, 2023, when they ran out of beer and decided to steal some from Hillside Rd Bottle-O.
The group stole a Mazda Axela and drove to the store, where they used bolt cutters to steal six crates of beer totaling about $300.
The 30-year-old then got behind the wheel and drove away with his friends keeping the headlights of the getaway vehicle switched off, which caught the attention of police officers in a patrol car nearby, who then gave a chase.
Taylor stepped on the pedal trying to outdo the police car but ran into a pole at Melbourne Street in St Kilda suburb of Dunedin, reportedly traveling at the speed of 90km/h. Michael John McClelland, 26, who was sitting in the back seat died on the spot. Three others sustained injuries, while Taylor managed to escape only to be caught later
The police later reported Taylor's blood alcohol reading at 153 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, nearly three times what is permitted. Taylor was on Tuesday remanded in police custody, awaiting his sentencing in June.
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