Claim news
08/02/2011

Car accident man was intoxicated

A fruit packer from Poland, who had a car accident after drink-driving on Christmas Day 2010, has now been charged.

The 42-year-old man, who had only been living in the UK for eight months and had no understanding of the English language, took his partner's car out for a drive after drinking too much, having had an argument her.

The motorist was driving along London Road in Canterbury when he lost control of the vehicle and swerved onto the other side of the road. He hit a car which was coming in the opposite direction, causing that motorist minor injuries, and ended up trapped in his seat after his vehicle got stuck in a hedge.

When emergency services arrived at the scene, the man refused help. He tried to stop fire fighters from cutting him from the car, refused to be breathalysed by police, and fought against paramedics putting him on a spinal board for neck injury victims – the magistrate during his hearing said, "This court looks on matters like this extremely seriously and will not tolerate this type of behaviour. You were intoxicated and caused an accident.

"You have not applied for a driver's licence and knew you should have had insurance".

The man was ordered to pay £85 in costs, given a 200-hours unpaid community work order, and was banned from driving for two years. If the driver of the other vehicle involved wants to make a compensation claim, then he will now be able to, since the 42-year-old has been found liable for the incident.