A teenager who was over twice the legal limit when he crashed his car outside Markethill has been fined and taken off the road for a year.
The case of Ronan McGrane (19), of Tamnaghmore Road, Tandragee, was heard at Armagh Magistrates’ Court, sitting at Newry Courthouse on Tuesday.
He was charged with one count of driving with excess alcohol in breath.
The court heard that on June 8 this year, police attended a single vehicle, damage-only road collision on the Mullurg Road outside Markethill.
A Volkswagen Golf had collided with a fence and a telegraph pole, knocking it down.
Police spoke with the driver, who identified himself as the defendant, stating the sun had been in his eyes as he came around the corner.
He advised police he had consumed alcohol and a preliminary breath test resulted in a fail.
The defendant was arrested and made full admissions.
An evidential breath test returned a result of 87 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 described the reading as “very high”, noting it to be “well over twice the legal limit”.
She commented: “What you were doing driving with that amount of drink in you at your age and obviously lack of experience as a driver, I’ve no idea.”
Given character references and the defendant’s “good work ethic”, Judge Marshall opted to fine McGrane £200, alongside imposing a £15 offender levy, giving him 28 days to pay.
He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.
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