Driver was four times over drink limit when he smashed into oncoming car

A driver was more than four times over the drink-drive limit when he veered across the road and slammed into an oncoming car, a court has heard. The woman Andrew Zangaris crashed into was left battered and bruised and two months after the smash still has to take morphine for the pain. Swansea Crown Court[1] heard Zangaris had drunk the night before the crash, during his lunchbreak the next day, and then after work before getting behind the wheel to drive home.

A judge told the 45-year-old his "selfishness" on the day in question could have resulted in even more serious injury than it did cause or even in death. Sian Cutter, prosecuting, said at around 5.40pm on November 15 last year the complainant in the case was driving along the A4067 Swansea[2] Valley bypass approaching Pontardawe when "without warning" there was a loud bang, the airbags in her car deployed, and the vehicle began to fill with smoke. The prosecutor said the driver had no idea what had happened and tried to get out of the car but found her door jammed shut.

The woman climbed out through the passenger door and found the front offside of her car was severely damaged. At that point she was approached by a motorist who had stopped and who told her a car coming in the other direction had veered across the carriageway and driven straight into the front of her car. The court heard that dashcam footage subsequently recovered from another motorist showed Zangaris driving "erratically" and veering from side to side in his lane before crossing the white line and ploughing into the oncoming car.

Police were called and Zangaris was spoken to at the scene. The prosecutor said the defendant "smelled very strongly of alcohol" and was breathalysed at the roadside. The reading was 165mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath with the legal limit being 35mg.

A subsequent evidential breath test carried out at the police station gave a reading of 143mg. The defendant answered "no comment" to all questions asked during interview. Meanwhile the injured woman was taken to Morriston Hospital[5] suffering with pain in her knees, chest, shoulders, and back and bruising to the face.

She was later discharged but had to be readmitted following a reaction to the pain medication and spent three the next three days in hospital. The court heard she was left suffering with anxiety and flashbacks and two months on from the crash is still taking morphine for the pain, has trouble sleeping, and is being treated by chiropractor. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter here[6]. Andrew Zangaris, of Lon Cae Banc, Tycoch, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and to driving with excess alcohol when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

He has no previous convictions. Stuart John, for Zangaris, said the defendant feels "deep remorse and deep shame" for the results of what he did. He said his client had been living a lonely life and had "lost objectivity about how damaging his drinking had become to himself and to the people around him".

The advocate said that since the incident Zangaris has taken steps to address his drinking and he said he was as certain as he could be that the defendant would not be appearing before the courts again. Judge Huw Rees said Zangaris had consumed alcohol the night before the crash, during his lunchbreak, the following day and then after work and he told the defendant he had no business getting behind the wheel of the car in the state he was in. He said the A4067 had been busy with traffic at the time of the collision and the consequences of Zangaris' "selfishness" could have been even more serious injury than he had caused or even death.

The judge noted that the maximum sentence for the offence of dangerous driving was still two years despite judges raising the issue with governments over many years. With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Zangaris was sentenced to 14 months in prison suspended for 12 months comprising 14 months for dangerous driving and six months for driving with excess alcohol to run concurrently. He must also complete a rehabilitation course and a 90-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement and do 200 hours of unpaid work.

The defendant was banned from driving from two years and must pass an extended test before he can get his licence back and was ordered to pay his victim GBP1,000 in compensation and to pay GBP420 in prosecution costs.

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References

1. ^ Swansea Crown Court (www.walesonline.co.uk)
2. ^ Swansea (www.walesonline.co.uk)
3. ^ Paedophile had videos on phone of young boys being sexually tortured (www.walesonline.co.uk)
4. ^ Rugby international jailed for sexually assaulting three women in bar (www.walesonline.co.uk)
5. ^ Morriston Hospital (www.walesonline.co.uk)
6. ^ For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter here (www.walesonline.co.uk)