Parramatta youngster Jaemon Salmon has been convicted of drink driving, after hitting three cars and flipping his own vehicle on the morning of October 13 last year.
The 20-year-old returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.068 after heading to hospital following the incident, after partying in a Cronulla club the night before.
Salmon said he was distracted when the incident occurred, and told police he was using his phone when the crash happened.
“I think I might have been looking at my phone,” Salmon said.
“I don’t know if I was texting, or using Facebook - I just remember looking up and hitting something before the car started rolling.”
Salmon's Solicitor Wawrick Kron told the Sutherland Local Court Salmon was very remorseful, and wanted the full brunt of the punishment.
“He says, I’m here to say sorry and not to ask for leniency,” Mr Korn said.
“The trauma of the offence, I’m instructed, has moved him to publicly and sincerely apologise to the court and the local community.
“He and his family were shaken to the core.”
Magistrate Jayeann Carney convicted Salmon of low-range drink driving, and fined him $1500. He has now also been disqualified from driving for six months.
“He has a job as a footballer which carries a lot of responsibility, including behaving appropriately in the community,” Ms Carney said.
“A person’s life can change overnight - as a magistrate for 21 years, I have seen the trauma to the individuals appearing before the court, and this is an area which causes the community to really suffer.”