Sunderland drink driver three times the limit when he fled from scene of collision

Boozy Daniel Barker, 38, smashed his 2004-plate Mazda RX8 into a bollard at Sea Road, Seaburn, Sunderland, while almost three-and-a-half times the limit.

But Barker, of Park Avenue, also Seaburn, sped off after getting his vehicle back in gear on Thursday, September 17, 2018.

Police were alerted and they found him parked up nearby – and he blew a positive roadside breath test, South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard.

Prosecutor Grace Taylor told the court: “The witness says that she was a passenger in a car which was travelling on Sea Road in Sunderland.

“She saw the defendant’s vehicle which had collided with a bollard just outside the Pure Bliss beauticians. The vehicle was stopped over the lane.

“She opened the defendant’s door and he said that he was trying to get the car into gear. It then drove off.

“The witness contacted the police, and he was located nearby, near his house.

“A roadside breath test was failed. He was taken to a police station and he gave a positive reading on the CAMIC device.”

The court heard Barker gave a breath test of 119 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

He denied the offence but was found guilty at a trial in November, when he was given an interim driving ban ahead of his sentencing hearing.

Annalisa Moscardini, defending, gave no reason for Barker’s offence but described the findings of a Probation Service report on him as “sensible”.

The court heard Barker has two previous convictions from three offences, including a drink-drive offence from 2008.

Deputy District Judge Paul Conlon told him: “Your breath level was 119 microgrammes, which is a high level.”

Judge Conlon also made Barker subject to an 18-month community order, with a requirement to take the Drink Impaired Drivers’ Programme.

He must also complete up to 28 days of rehabilitation work with the Probation Service, and he was fined £180 and must pay £500 court costs and an £85 victim surcharge.

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