Australia- FORMER internet porn baron Greg Lasrado was driving erratically and may have been under the influence of heroin when he caused a high-speed collision on one of the state’s busiest roads, a court has been told.Lasrado, the flamboyant businessman who made and lost millions of dollars from a chain of pornography websites, was unsteady on his feet, appeared dazed and had glassy eyes after the collision that caused a small car to overturn on the Pacific Motorway, near Mt Gravatt, in February last year.
He was in court yesterday to face a charge of dangerous driving while under the influence of a drug.
The Holland Park Magistrate’s Court was told Lasrado, 36, clipped a Holden Barina while overtaking it in his Lamborghini Diablo on February 23.
One of the passengers in the Barina, Vaiari Inglis, was seriously injured in the crash and could have suffered permanent damage to one of her hands without surgery, the court heard.
Mrs Inglis, a mother of two, testified she needed further surgery to reset her ring and middle finger.
Constable Robert Wotton, who interviewed Lasrado in hospital after the crash, said Lasrado appeared to be “affected by something”.
“His speech was extremely slurred, he was unsteady on his feet, he had glassy eyes, dilated pupils and he had foam around his mouth,” he said.
“I got the sense that he was being very careful about his physical movements. (And) he fell asleep on the way to the hospital and to the police station.”
Constable Wotton told the court he believed Lasrado “may have been on heroin or another drug”.
However, Dr Ian Mahoney, under cross-examination by barrister Jeff Hunter, for Lasrado, admitted the accused’s behaviour could have been explained by injuries suffered in the crash or “undiagnosed neurological disorders”.
Lasrado was committed to stand trial on one charge of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing grievous bodily harm while under the influence of a drug.
The trial will be held in the Brisbane District Court at a date to be fixed.