Factory worker who pulled out in front of a police car narrowly missed colliding with a wall, court told
A factory worker who pulled out in front of a police car and drove slowly, narrowly avoiding a collision with a wall, lost his licence for 14 months when he appeared at Dungannon Magistrates Court.
The court heard police were on mobile patrol in the Dungannon area on the afternoon of April 19 this year when the incident happened.
District Judge Francis Rafferty told 26-year-old Felix Musana, of Carland Road, Dungannon, that he was nearly twice the legal drink-drive limit.
He fined Musana £200 with a £15 offender’s levy for driving while having consumed excess alcohol; £100 for using a vehicle without insurance; £75 for having no driving licence, and £100 for taking the vehicle without the authority of the owner.
Prosecuting counsel said that at 2.40pm police were at Carland Road when a car pulled out in front of them and travelled slowly.
The lawyer said police observed the vehicle narrowly missing a collision with a wall before pulling into the carpark at South Tyrone Hospital and stopping.
She said police could smell intoxicating liquor from the defendant and he failed a preliminary breath test.
He was arrested at 2.45 pm and conveyed to Dungannon custody where an evidential reading was obtained showing an alcohol count of 64 mcgs per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 mcgs.
The prosecutor added that checks showed Musana was not insured to drive the vehicle and that it had been taken without permission.
A defence solicitor pointed out the car belonged to the defendant’s friend.
He said the married father-of-one had been consuming alcohol in the property he had pulled out from.