An Armagh man who left his own van on its roof after a collision with a car whilst over the legal limit has been handed a 12 month disqualification.
The 27-year-old’s legal representative stated that his client wished to apologise to the third parties involved for what he accepted was “very, very poor driving”.
Ryan Quigley, of Brookhill Crescent, had pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and dangerous driving at the city’s Magistrates’ Court, sitting at Newry, on Tuesday.
Prosecution outlined that on September 26, at 2.20am, police were tasked to a road traffic collision on Barrack Street, Armagh.
Two occupants of a black Mercedes had passed through a green light, when a Citroen Berlingo van collided with the near side of their vehicle. The collision caused the van to carry on before coming to a rest on its roof.
Officers spoke with the occupants of the Mercedes, who identified a male walking on Mall West as the same individual who had exited the van following the collision.
Police spoke to the male, identified as this defendant. It was observed that he had cuts and bleeding to his head.
Whilst speaking to officers, Quigley made the unsolicited commented: “I am dead, I’m only after wrecking the van.”
The van was found to be registered in the defendant’s name and a preliminary breath test at the roadside resulted in a fail.
Quigley was conveyed to Craigavon Area Hospital for treatment, and whilst there a sample of his urine was obtained for analysis.
Forensics later revealed the sample to have 254mg of alcohol in 100ml of urine – over twice the legal limit.
The defendant attended Lurgan Police Station on December 10, where he gave a no comment interview.
Defence counsel stated that his client wished to apologise to the third parties involved for what he accepted was “very, very poor driving”.
He asked that Quigley was afforded credit for his early plea and lack of record.
The defendant was disqualified from driving for 12 months and was ordered to pay a fine of £550, along with the offender’s levy of £15, within 12 weeks.
