A drink-driving crash at Balgowlah left a busy intersection without a working traffic light and a luxury Porsche badly damaged after a late-night collision on Sunday 12 July.
Emergency services were called to Condamine Street just after 11.30pm, with NSW Police, NSW Ambulance and Fire and Rescue NSW’s Manly Station all responding. They arrived to find a 2019 Porsche Cayenne had come to rest on the footpath at the corner of Condamine Street and Hayes Street, directly outside the Coco Republic furniture store.
According to Northern Beaches Police Area Command, the vehicle had been travelling northbound on the Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation when it lost control approaching the Condamine Street intersection. It struck a traffic light in the middle of the intersection before sliding roughly 50 metres along the road, mounting the kerb, clipping a small tree, and coming to rest wedged between a light pole and the concrete front wall of the store. Both airbags deployed on impact.
The three occupants — a 32-year-old man, a 30-year-old woman, and their dog — all made it out of the vehicle under their own power. Paramedics assessed the pair on scene, and the woman was treated for minor facial injuries. The dog was unharmed.
Police were already in the area that night searching for a vehicle connected to a separate, unrelated pursuit when they came across the crash. Officers conducted a roadside breath test on the driver, which allegedly returned a positive reading. He was transported to Dee Why Police Station, where a secondary test allegedly recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.055 — placing him in the low-range prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA) category.
The 32-year-old was issued an infringement notice for the low-range PCA offence and had his driver’s licence suspended on the spot for three months.
Beyond the legal consequences, the crash is likely to carry a significant financial sting. A drink-driving conviction typically voids comprehensive motor vehicle insurance cover, meaning the driver may have to bear the cost of repairing — or replacing — the Porsche Cayenne himself. Models of that year and specification currently fetch around $80,000 on the used car market.
Firefighters cleared debris from the road, cordoned off the downed traffic light with barrier tape, and applied absorbent material to a fluid spill beneath the vehicle. Transport for NSW was notified of the damaged signal, which had exposed live electrical wiring requiring urgent attention before the site could be made safe.
Published 15-July-2026
