disastrously.

He lost control of the vehicle, which ploughed into three parked cars before flipping over. Three people needed hospital treatment, and the car was a write-off.

The teenager's day of torment on February 5 was relayed to Magistrates' Court last week.

Insp. Peter Duffy, prosecuting, said Thomas was driving along South Road in Southampton. He lost control outside the Reefs Hotel, and the vehicle slid sideways, crashing into three parked cars, before landing on its roof.

Insp. Duffy said Thomas, of Sunning Lane, Warwick, told Police he lost control while trying to avoid an oncoming vehicle in the middle of the road.

It was estimated Thomas, a Stonington College student, had been travelling at about 45 kph when the accident occurred.

Thomas, who admitted driving without due care and attention, was fined $200.