Andrew Graham King: Suspended jail term for Albany man sentenced for crashing car into Albany Health Campus

An Albany man has avoided a jail term after he smashed his vehicle into the Albany Health Campus triage entrance during a fit of rage last month, causing tens of thousands of dollars damage. Andrew Graham King, 51, appeared in Albany Magistrates Court on Thursday pleading guilty to a charge of criminal damage and driving with a suspended licence. A police prosecutor told the court that at 11.55pm on Thursday, December 2, King attended Albany Health Campus to receive treatment for a broken rib. While getting medical help, King became abusive towards staff, left the facility and sat in his car in the carpark for 30 minutes before driving alongside the front of the hospital and twice reversing the flatbed of the vehicle into the triage department entrance. The total cost of the damage came to $31,205. King was located three hours later and was arrested and charged at Albany police station. In court, King apologised for his aggressive behaviour. “I’ve obviously got anger issues,” he said. King claimed he had been in severe pain on the night the incident occurred and that he had been “treated like a drug addict” at the hospital after being offered what he considered “insufficient treatment.” Magistrate Erin O’Donnell said King’s actions were “inherently dangerous and not what any health service deserves”. King was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 13 months. The sentence is conditional on his compliance with supervision program requirements. For driving with a suspended licence, King was fined $800 and a further 12 months was added to the 18-month licence suspension he received in November. Magistrate O’Donnell warned King that even a minor offence in this period could result in prison time.