Celebrating grandad causes smash in Leicester while over the limit

A man who had two glasses of wine to celebrate becoming a granddad for the first time crashed into a family's car while driving along London Road in Leicester. Mihai Andries made a sudden left turn, pulling across two lanes of traffic, as he drove his white Ford Transit van on the busy route. The van clipped a car containing a couple and their two children, but Andries did not notice and kept driving.

The other driver followed him, flashing his lights, until the 51-year-old pulled over. Leicestershire Police[1] arrived and gave Andries a roadside breathalyser test, which he failed. He was arrested and taken to a police station where the lowest alcohol reading he gave was 59 microgrammes per 100ml of breath.

The legal limit is 35 microgrammes. At Leicester Magistrates' Court[3] on Monday, the father-of-four, of Mere Road, Evington[4], Leicester, pleaded guilty to drink-driving during the incident, which happened at about 4.30pm on Saturday, November 25. Zara Cowan, representing Andries, said: "What should have been a special day for him and his family has been tainted.

"He received news he had become a grandfather and celebrated with two glasses of wine. He is remorseful, he is embarrassed and ashamed." She said Andries had been working in property maintenance for the past 11 years but would now lose his job because of the automatic disqualification from driving.

She added that the damage to the other car had been sorted out by Andries's insurance company.

The magistrates fined him GBP250 and ordered him to pay GBP85 court costs and a GBP100 victim surcharge.

He was banned from driving for 14 months.

References

1. ^ Leicestershire Police (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
2. ^ Driver 4 times drink limit smashes into family's car then tries to flee before mum grabs keys (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
3. ^ Leicester Magistrates' Court (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
4. ^ Evington (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)