A 28-year-old Gympie man’s decision to drive while heavily drunk cost him dearly when he wrote off his $14,000 Mazda MX5 by crashing it into a tree.

Joshua Dylan Schiffke was driving along East Deep Creek Rd on the night of November 20 when he lost control of the car and ran into the tree head-on.

Schiffke, who returned a reading of .225 after the crash, pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence in Gympie Magistrates Court on Thursday.

His lawyer told the court Schiffke had been out drinking on the day, and despite initial plans not to drive that night, he changed his mind and decided to head to his girlfriend’s place which was about 10 minutes away.

MORE GYMPIE NEWS

• Pothole-ridden Gympie region road a ‘total disgrace’
• ‘I’ll smash this straight over your f------ head’

He was rounding a corner when the car’s wheels hit the road’s shoulder.

Schiffke lost control and was unable to regain it, which his lawyer said was inevitable given the amount of alcohol in his system.

The court heard the Mazda, valued at $14,000 at the time of the crash, was sold for $400 to wreckers.

Magistrate Chris Callaghan said Schiffke was fortunate to be sitting in the court given his “huge” reading.

“You got so drunk you were incapable of making a decision not to drive,” Mr Callaghan said.

He acknowledged the crash had left Schiffke $13,5000 out of pocket as a result of the write-off.

Schiffke was fined $1000 and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.

No conviction was recorded.