Qld: Premier tells of highway terror

AAP General News (Australia)
04-13-2010
Qld: Premier tells of highway terror

BRISBANE, April 13 AAP - A driver who terrified Queensland Premier Anna Bligh by driving
erratically next to her car on a motorway last year has been convicted and fined.

Leigh Sydney McQueeney, 48, appeared in the Holland Park Magistrates Court on Tuesday
in relation to the incident on May 7 on the M1 at Rochedale.

He was found guilty, on his own plea, of not having proper control of a vehicle and
fined $300 and a conviction was recorded.

Ms Bligh told reporters after the court case it had been a "very terrifying incident".

"Any vehicle that's behaving erratically in a freeway situation travelling at speed
is very scary," she said.

She had been a passenger in a Chrysler sedan travelling south along the motorway between
Brisbane and the Gold Coast with three other people.

A blue Saab sedan driven by McQueeney started accelerating and decelerating, due to
a later-identified mechanical problem, alongside the Premier's vehicle.

Her security officer flashed her badge out the window and directed McQueeney to pull
over, which he did.

"Ultimately the police officer who was travelling with me made a judgment to prosecute
on the basis of the behaviour observed," Ms Bligh said.

The premier said she did not believe the driver knew she was in the car.

"That was not obvious to me at the time. What I saw was a vehicle behaving in a very
scary fashion," she said.

She said she gave a witness account to police about the incident, which lasted around 10 minutes.

The court heard McQueeney would face other traffic charges, including driving without
due care and two counts of driving without a licence, on April 22.

AAP pjo/maur/

KEYWORD: MCQUEENEY

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