An Armagh man who crashed into a fence in a Newtownhamilton housing estate whilst over the legal limit has been fined £350.
Ryan Cooke, of Corkley Road, was also disqualified from driving for 14 months at Armagh Magistrates’ Court, sitting at Newry Courthouse.
The 29-year-old was charged with driving with excess alcohol in breath, failing to report a damage only accident and failing to remain at a damage only accident.
The court was told that on November 26 this year, at around 9pm, police received a report that an Audi had crashed into a fence in the Dungormley estate in Newtownhamilton.
It was further reported that the male involved had driven further up the road, exited the vehicle and ran away, with the reporting person stating that he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.
Police attended and spoke to the driver, who identified himself as the defendant. He gave an evidential breath reading of 55mcgs – the legal limit in Northern Ireland is 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
A defence lawyer told the court his client was attending a funeral that evening and had a few drinks afterwards, thinking he was OK to drive.
While conceding the defendant panicking and attempting to leave the scene was an aggravating feature, he added: “It’s not the highest reading the court will have observed in a case of this type.”
District Judge Anne Marshall commented: “Given his plea at the earliest opportunity, I’ll deal with it as leniently as I can, taking into account the fact that it was a crash and that he did initially leave the scene.”
District Judge Marshall imposed the total fine of £350 and gave the defendant 10 weeks to pay, alongside the 14 month disqualification.
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