Motorist crashed BMW into wall and then attempted to run off but was caught by police
A motorist failed to stop for police and crashed into a wall in Broughshane before attempting to run off from his BMW.
Alec Huey (22), of Knowehead Road, Broughshane, was sentenced on charges of dangerous driving; failing to stop for police; and failing to stop following a collision.
Ballymena Magistrates Court was told that at 2am on Sunday September 15 last year police saw a car at Bally Road go onto Cushendall Road. It was straddling the centre lines.
The car turned onto Ballygarvey Road building speed and failing to stop for police who had blue lights activated.
A short time later police found the car crashed into a wall at Knowehead Road. There were tyre tracks over a grass area. The court heard the bill to fix the wall was £9,000.
The defendant ran from the vehicle to the rear of a property and was arrested.
His speech was slurred; he was unsteady on his feet and there was a smell of intoxicating liquor from his breath. An empty beer tin and near empty bottle of wine were in the vehicle footwell.
Due to the car airbags having deployed he was taken to Antrim Area Hospital where an alcohol in blood reading of 59 was below the legal limit for alcohol in blood of 80.
When interviewed he denied trying to evade police but said he had been driving too fast on the way home and had lost control. He said he ran from the car because "I was a bit scared". A defence solicitor said it had been "stupid, impulsive, behaviour" and the defendant was "very remorseful".
District Judge Nigel Broderick ordered the defendant, who had a record, to do 120 hours of Community Service; banned him from driving for a year and fined him £300. He will have to re-sit his test to get back on the road.
The judge told the defendant: "Not only was this reckless but it was also dangerous. You had some alcohol in your system albeit not over the limit.
"Trying to evade detection by police could have ended up with you being killed, because you hit a wall. You are quite lucky not to have been injured, or worse."