A man who collided with a car in an HGV whilst over twice the legal drink drive limit has been handed an 18 month disqualification.
The 39-year-old’s solicitor told court: “Obviously he is going to lose his licence and that is going to have a severe impact on his livelihood.”
Rimas Kamsiukas, with an address of Sundale Road in Dublin, had pleas of guilty entered on his behalf to driving with excess alcohol and dangerous driving at Armagh Magistrates’ Court, sitting at Newry, on Tuesday.
Prosecution outlined that on October 25, at 5.40pm, police received a report a road traffic collision on the A1, Dromore.
Officers arrived at the scene to find the two vehicles involved, an HGV lorry and a Citroen C1 car.
The driver of the second vehicle, who had their 23-month-old child in the rear, stated that the lorry had collided with the rear offside of their car causing it to lose steering.
A preliminary breath test was carried out on this defendant, the driver of the HGV lorry, which resulted in a fail.
Whilst in custody, an evidential sample of breath was obtained giving a reading of 92mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath – over twice the legal limit.
When interviewed, Kamsiukas admitted to drinking a glass of wine before driving the lorry on the evening in question.
Defence solicitor Ruari Gillen stated: “He has accepted full culpability. This is a man with no kids, he is not married and he has lived in Northern Ireland or Ireland for the last 16 years.
“He had been driving for a haulage company in Dublin. This would often entail a run to Lisburn. It was his birthday that day or the next day. He had been drinking when he got a call from his boss to do another run.”
He added: “This was not a planned run. Obviously he is going to lose his licence and that is going to have a severe impact on his livelihood.”
District Judge Greg McCourt disqualified Kamsiukas from driving for a period of 18 months and ordered that he pay a fine of £485, along with the offender’s levy of £15.
