Moment suspected drink driver crashes through living room
A suspected drink driver[1] crashed through a house and into the living room before fleeing the scene and claiming his car[2] had been stolen. The incident caused nearly £30,000 worth of damage and everyone in the house was luckily upstairs in bed at the time.
Police were called to the house in Mount Pleasant Road, Wisbech, during the early hours of August 21, 2021, by a member of the public. Emergency services arrived to find Michael Wilson’s silver Audi A3 in the living room with the driver’s airbag inflated.
Investigations later revealed the collision had caused more than £28,000 worth of damage to the house itself and £1,000 of damage to items in the living room. At about 10.30am that day, Wilson, 34, called police to say he had been burgled.
Poll – Should Paul O’Grady have been knighted?[3]
He claimed he had woken up after a night out drinking to find the front door of his house in Acacia Avenue, Wisbech, open. Wilson said the Audi had been stolen, together with a watch, earring and £200 in cash.
Enquiries were made to locate the vehicle and revealed the car had been recovered from the scene of the collision. The airbag was analysed by forensic officers and Wilson’s DNA found on it.
He denied making a false statement to cover the fact he was drunk, had crashed his car and run off, but in February he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, intending to pervert the course of justice and criminal damage at Cambridge Crown Court. Wilson was sentenced at Huntingdon Law Courts on Friday, March 24 where he was handed two years in prison, suspended for two years.
He was ordered to complete 160 hours of unpaid work and pay £12,000 in compensation to the victims, at a cost of £500 per month. DC Pete Wise, who investigated, said: “This was an incredibly scary incident for the occupants of the house.
“The CCTV captures the alarming and destructive moment Wilson crashes his car through the wall into the living room at speed. It is lucky the two people in the house at the time were upstairs in bed – otherwise the consequences could have been much more serious.
“We take actions of this nature very seriously and justice always prevails in the end.”
References
- ^ drink driver (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
- ^ car (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Poll – Should Paul O’Grady have been knighted? (xd.wayin.com)