A man who tried to leave the scene of a road-traffic collision in Armagh was over the legal limit, a court has heard.
The case of James Livingstone, of no fixed abode, was heard at Armagh Magistrates’ Court, sitting at Newry Courthouse.
The 29-year-old, who appeared via videolink from Maghaberry, was charged with using a vehicle without insurance, driving without a licence, driving while disqualified, failing to remain at an accident and driving with excess alcohol in breath.
The court heard on June 23 last year at 5:50pm police attended a collision between a Vauxhall and Ford Transit on the Portadown Road in Armagh.
Members of the public directed police towards a male, who was the defendant. He was approximately 200m away and was walking in the direction of Armagh.
A member of the public stated the defendant was the driver of the Ford Transit and was attempting to get away.
Police then detained the defendant, noting the smell of liquor and cannabis from him, while checks on police systems revealed he was a disqualified driver.
The defendant was then taken to Lurgan custody, where he provided a lower evidential sample of 72 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit in Northern Ireland is 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
District Judge Anne Marshall, on reading his record, noted that it “actually isn’t bad” for driving offences.
She imposed a total fine of £500 on the charges, alongside a driving ban of one year. She also ordered an immediate warrant of seven days in lieu of paying the fine.
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