After a visit to a pub, a Lurgan man drove through roundabout so quickly the car ended up on its roof, Craigavon court hears
A Co Armagh man who drove to a shop to buy a vape after visiting a local pub, drove too fast through a roundabout with the car ending up on its roof, a court has heard.
Adam O’Connor, aged 27, from Portadown Road, Lurgan, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court charged with driving with excess alcohol and no insurance.
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The court heard that on March 18 this year, police attended the Lurgan Road, Portadown ‘following a report of a vehicle on its roof’ after it hit a lamp post damaging it.
O’Connor presented himself to police as the driver and told them he had gone to the shop to ‘buy a vape’ and had ‘come through the roundabout too fast’.
He also revealed he wasn’t insured as the vehicle belonged to his sister.
When police told him he would be breathalised, he told them he ‘would certainly fail as he had been drinking’. An evidential breath test read 60 micrograms of alcohol to 100 millilitres of breath. The legal alcohol limit is 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath.
During interview, O’Connor made full admissions to the charges before the court.
His solicitor Mr Philip Reid said he was “very lucky” to merely face two charges.
Mr Reid said O’Connor lives at home with his parents and is a full time carer for his brother who has autism, Down’s Syndrome and ADHD.
He explained his client had gone to a local pub and driven his own car there.
“Quite sensibly he left the car there and walked home. Then make a foolish decision to take his sister’s car. It’s really bizarre and unfortunate that he did so,” he said, adding “he is very lucky he wasn’t injured and nobody else was injured”.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan described O’Connor’s decision as a “very stupid one”, adding: "This is going to impact you significantly and sadly it might impact your brother also.”
He banned O’Connor from driving for 12 months for driving with excess alcohol plus gave him a £200 fine and £15 offender levy. For no insurance he was given a six-month driving ban, to run concurrently and also fined him £100.