Drink driver crashed twice, set airbags off and kept driving
A drink driver crashed twice and set off his airbags before continuing to drive on the wrong side of the road towards an ambulance. The driving was described as a judge as "sheer lunacy".
Gary Hillman, 48, was more than three times the drink drive limit when he drove his works van through Bangor[1] on January 5. He later told police he had been drinking vodka, and had been knocked unconscious during one of the crashes which left him "confused".
A sentencing hearing at Caernarfon Crown Court[2] on Friday heard at around 2.50pm, Hillman collided with a security offence in Llandygai Industrial Estate after going too fast around a corner. He failed to stop and report the accident, and carried on driving.
He entered the A55 but as he approached the Puffin roundabout he crashed into the central reservation which resulted in his airbags being deployed. In his sentencing remarks, Recorder IWL Jones said: "You should have left it at that but what you did was sheer lunacy."
The defendant turned round on the A55 back in the direction of Bangor, sticking his head out of the driver's side window in order to see over the airbags. He was said to be driving slowly but veered onto the wrong side of the road on which he travelled for three quarters of a mile.
At one stage, Hillman drove head on directly towards an ambulance which had its blue lights illuminated and sirens on. Recorder Jones added: "It's nothing short of a miracle there wasn't an extremely serious incident leading to serious injury or death.
Hillman, of Glan Fedw, Betws Yn Rhos, Conwy[4], was stopped by police in Pemaenmawr and was described as "unsteady on his feet and speech slurred". A blood test was taken which revealed he had 249mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, the legal limit being 80mg. The defendant later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol and failing to stop. He has one previous conviction related to violence in 2021.
In mitigation, Ember-Jade Wong said her client was remorseful and had "hit rock bottom" at the time of the offence. She said he recognised there was a problem and has been in contact with Alcoholics Anonymous in order to rebuild his life.
Sentencing, Recorder Jones said: "A suspended prison sentence wouldn't be a sufficient punishment for what you did. There was a risk of serious injury or death you put people in that road to, who could not have possibly imagined a vehicle like yours coming towards you, never mind how slow it was."
Hillman was sentenced to a total of 12 months imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for two years and six months.
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References
- ^ Bangor (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ Caernarfon Crown Court (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ Get the latest court cases sent to your email inbox with our Crime & Punishment newsletter (data.reachplc.com)
- ^ Conwy (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ regular Crime and Punishment newsletter here (data.reachplc.com)