Cookstown joiner loses licence following crash on the outskirts of Co Tyrone town
A Co Tyrone joiner found sitting in a car with its engine running following a single vehicle crash outside Cookstown, has lost his licence for 12 months.
Twenty-nine-year-old Clarke McConkey, from Drumearn Road, Cookstown, was also fined £200 for being in charge of the vehicle while having consumed excess alcohol.
McConkey was fined a further £200 for permitting another to drive his vehicle without insurance.
Dungannon Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday that on September 15 last at approximately 7.30pm, police attended the scene of a single vehicle road traffic collision on the Mackenny Road near Cookstown.
Prosecuting counsel said a Mitubitshi vehicle had crashed into a verge and police spoke to the defendant who was sitting in a car nearby which had its engine running.
The lawyer said McConkey told police he was the owner of the crashed Mitubitshi and it had been driven by another male at the scene who was not insured.
She added that in custody the defendant provided a breath specimen which showed an alcohol reading of 69 mcgs per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 mcgs.
A defence lawyer explained the defendant had given the other male permission to drive thinking that he had trade insurance that would cover him, but he accepts that he should have checked.
He said McConkey had been sitting in his grandmother's car and took the opportunity to phone for a recovery vehicle to attend when the police arrived.
The lawyer stressed that the defendant had a clear driving record.