Crashed father’s van while drunk

Keelim Paul Savage, Reilly Park, Banbridge, admitted a series of motoring offences which happened on August 15 this year.

For driving with excess alcohol he was fined £250, ordered to pay a £15 offender’s levy and banned for 12 months. He also pleaded guilty to failing to stop, failing to report an accident, not having insurance, driving unsupervised, not displaying ‘L’ plates and aggravated taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent. For each of these offences he was given a conditional discharge for two years.

The court heard that at 10pm a hit and run accident took place at Scarva Street in Banbridge. There was damage to the driver’s side of a parked vehicle and a rear bumper while a wing mirror was smashed off.

A van was seen in Scarva Street swerving in the road before colliding with the parked car and driving off. Police went to an address in Banbridge and saw a black van which was damaged on the passenger’s side.

Police spoke to owner of the vehicle on the phone and he said he had been away for the weekend. He told police his son had been driving.

When police spoke to the defendant he said: “I know what this is about. I crashed on the Scarva Road.” Savage failed a breath test and an evidential test gave a reading of 113.

He said he had taken some wine after the crash and before that he had taken beer and shots.

A barrister representing the defendant said Savage came from a respectable family and his mother and father had taken a very dim view of what happened.

He explained that they had paid for driving lessons and insurance and were going to buy their son a small car but that was not an option now.

Deputy District Judge Laura Ivers said it was obvious Savage had taken this seriously and he had learned a salutary lesson. Turning to references handed in to the court she said the defendant was a man with real potential who now would have this blemish which was so sad for someone so young.