Disqualified driver Fairmont Leigh crashes into campervan after flipping off tourists in Golden Bay
A 20-year-old disqualified driver, Fairmont Leigh, has been sentenced for dangerous driving after crashing into a campervan while making obscene gestures at tourists. Despite previous convictions and ongoing legal issues, he continued to drive recklessly, citing being late for a funeral as an excuse.
Why it matters
The case underscores issues of repeat traffic offenses and the challenges of enforcing driving bans on individuals with a history of dangerous behavior.
Fairmont Leigh hides his face during sentencing in the Nelson District Court for his driving offences, including the dangerous overtaking of a campervan before he crashed into another. Photo / Tracy Neal
A disqualified driver who made an obscene gesture at a tourist campervan he was passing failed to see an oncoming campervan and crashed into it.
Fairmont Leigh then got out of his car, went up to the campervan, which had managed to stop before the impact, and yelled at the tourists: “What are you doing on my side of the road?”
At the time, Leigh was still serving the terms of a sentence handed out months earlier on five other “reasonably similar” driving charges.
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