Brandon John Bona fined for nearly tripling legal limit in second drink-driving offence

A young Bunbury man has been kicked off the road for 14 months after being caught behind the wheel with a blood alcohol reading nearly three times the legal limit. Brandon John Bona, 21, appeared in Bunbury Magistrates Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to the driving under the influence charge, his second charge of returning an excess 0.08 reading. In the early hours of October 22, Bona was driving west along Hamilton road in Australind when he lost control of the vehicle and struck a fence and parked car. Upon conducting a blood analysis test, Bona returned a reading of 0.126. The court was told Bona had broken up with the girlfriend the day prior to the offending and had been drinking to a “significant” extent. While details are yet to be finalised by the victim, it was submitted the man was facing up to $14,500 in damages. Magistrate Linda Keane handed down a fine of $1800 and a 14-month license disqualification, the minimum sentence for a second-time offender. She hoped the consequence would serve as a “wake up call.” “You may have many more relationship breakdowns in your life,” she said. “You cannot deal with matters in this kind of way.”