A Troopie written off as unusable 15 years ago was being driven along a street near Mataranka yesterday.
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Police saw the old Toyota Troop Carrier mid-morning yesterday while doing routine patrols at Jilkminggan, about 10km south of Mataranka.
The old Troopie was belching black smoke, it had no front or rear windscreens and only one side window.
A 60-year-old man was later found driving it.
Police claim the man accelerated into a property, stopped the vehicle and alighted before he was quickly apprehended by attending police officers.
Police conducted a random breath test on the driver who returned a positive reading of 0.03%. He was subsequently arrested.
The vehicle was deemed to be unsafe to be driven on a public street.
Police discovered it had been a statutory write off since 2004.
The driver was charged with:
- Drive Unlicensed With Alcohol in Blood
- Drive Disqualified
- Drive Unsafe Motor Vehicle
- Drive Unregistered/Uninsured
He was later remanded in custody to appear in Katherine Local Court on March 11.
Northern Territory Police would like to remind road users of the dangers of driving unsafe motor vehicles which places the lives all road users at risk.
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