A Lurgan man who crashed his wife’s car into a parked vehicle after consuming a litre of whisky has been banned from driving for two years.
Court heard the 33-year-old was found by police slumped over the wheel of the car on the driveway of a property.
Andrejs Andrejevs, of Glenview Drive, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol, using a vehicle without insurance, no driving licence, aggravated vehicle taking and causing damage, driving without due care or attention and failing to stop, remain or report an accident at Armagh Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Prosecution outlined that on February 16, police received a report of a suspected drink driver in a Ford S-Max on Main Street, Loughgall, who had collided with a parked car.
The vehicle was seen heading to an address in Loughgall and when police arrived they found the defendant slumped over the wheel in the driveway of the property.
A preliminary breath test was carried out on Andrejevs resulting in a fail. A subsequent evidential sample taken at Dungannon Custody Suite gave a reading of 108mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.
Police spoke to the defendant’s wife, the owner of the car. She was very upset and claimed her husband did not have permission to take her vehicle as she knew he did not have a licence or insurance.
When sober Andrejevs was interviewed, he confirmed the car belonged to his wife but said she had intimated that he was allowed to avail of it.
He stated he had been drinking all day and had consumed a litre of whisky, and he had borrowed the car to meet a friend. He could not remember when this was but admitted to colliding with another vehicle.
Defence counsel stated: “This is a guilty plea to all charges, there is no excuse or justification I can present. I can only seek to mitigate these offences.
“This is a man who has been living in Northern Ireland since 2015, he has no record and he has never been in trouble with the police.”
He continued: “He lost his job relatively recently, his child was also diagnosed as needing special educational needs. The situation in the family is not exactly cheerful.
“My client is deeply apologetic for what he has done.”
Deputy District Judge Austin Kennedy stated: “This is a very high reading but I will give you credit for your early plea.”
Andrejevs was disqualified from driving for two years and was ordered to pay a fine of £1,400, along with the offender’s levy of £15, within 26 weeks.
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