A Milford man who crashed his car drunk after dropping his friends home has been told in court that his actions could have killed somebody.
Twenty-three-year-old Jake Eric Joseph, of Starbuck Road, pleaded guilty to driving his VW Polo after exceeding the prescribed limit of alcohol, when he appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Abul Hussain told the court that the incident occurred during the early hours of May 11 on Pill Road.
“A witness said that he had to take evasive action to avoid a collision with Mr. Joseph’s vehicle as he approached his car at speed, and he also collided with another car.
“Mr. Joseph said that he had been out with friends and was dropping them home. A roadside test proved positive and he gave a reading of 68 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath at the police station,” added Mr. Hussain.
Defence solicitor David Williams told the court that there was an RTC and Mr. Joseph remained at the scene to speak to the police.
“He is a young man of clean character and has never had a car accident before. He works in full-time employment near Narberth in marketing, so after his inevitable disqualification will be moving closer to where he works.
“His personal contribution to the community has seen him work as a lifeguard, instruct kayaking and play for the local football team.
“There is a code amongst 20-somethings and the attitude that drink-driving is an absolute no-no, so he is deeply ashamed of breaking his own code, and he will be judged harshly by his peers and will judge himself harshly too,” added Mr. Williams.
Chief magistrate Margaret Thomas told the defendant that his actions could have resulted in ‘huge consequences’ in that he could have killed somebody.
Magistrates disqualified Mr. Joseph from driving for 18 months and fined him £30 for the offence. He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.