Enniskillen Court House, RMGFH04
A 21-year-old Brookeborough drink driver who almost collided with a police vehicle and a pedestrian in a garage forecourt, drove off when police went to question him.
Kevin Nolan, of Tattenabuddagh Lane was disqualified from driving for 16 months and fined £500 at Enniskillen Magistrates Court. The defendant was convicted of driving with excess alcohol in breath, careless driving, driving without insurance and failing to stop for police.
The prosecutor outlined that on July 5 at 4.30am a police vehicle was parked at the 24 hour Lakeside Service Station at Queen Street, Enniskillen and the defendant, driving a red Ford Fiesta was almost involved in a collision.
The vehicle then had to brake suddenly to avoid collision with a pedestrian high visibility clothing, who had been delivering newspapers. Police approached the vehicle to speak to the driver and a male passenger got out of the vehicle, before the vehicle reversed and drove off in the direction of Queen Street.
Police located the car between Halls Lane and Head Street some 200 metres away.
The door was open, the keys were in the ignition and the lights were on, but the driver was not to be found. A short time later police stopped a silver BMW being driven by a foreign national. They recognised the passenger in the vehicle as the driver of the Ford Fiesta.
When he stepped out of the car officers observed that he was unsteady on his feet and could smell alcohol on his breath.
A lower reading of 90mg in breath was taken at the station, more than twice the legal limit for driving (35mg). During interview Nolan denied driving the vehicle and said it was stolen from his address in Brookeborough.
He denied being at the service station and said he was at a house party at Darling Street, Enniskillen. The defendant told police that a passing motorist had offered him a lift.
Defence barrister Stephen Fitzpatrick called the defendant, a mechanic by trade, “quite an industrious young man” and explained he had renovated a garage at his home to do work.
As a mechanic the defence said a licence was very important to the defendant and a disqualification put his job in jeopardy. He told the court that Nolan lived at home with his widower mother and grandmother and had signed up to do a training scheme, but could not avail of this if he lost his licence.
District judge Nigel Broderick said this was a case that was aggravated by a number of factors including the very high alcohol reading and the manner of driving.
The judge said this was a “poor piece of driving” and Nolan’s denials to police did not help his cause.
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