A drink driver ploughed into a barrier on a busy road then slipped and fell on his back as he tried to flee the scene.
Peter Graham, who has a past conviction for driving with excess alcohol from 2019, was witnessed by officers travelling at speed and flouting a red light in his Vauxhall Astra before the collision on Callerton Lane, in Newcastle. A court heard that the 32-year-old had been on his way back from viewing a wedding venue with his fiancée when he crashed his car then left her in the passenger seat as he unsuccessfully tried to run away.
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Officers were easily able to detain Graham after he slipped down an embankment and fell on his back, prosecutors said. The buyer, of The Lairage, in Ponteland, has now been given a 12-month community order, with 100 hours of unpaid work, and a 40-month driving ban after he pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.
Prosecutor Jennifer McKelvin said officers were in a car in queuing traffic at Kingston Park roundabout, in Newcastle, when they spotted Graham flouting a red light "at speed" and continuing onto the A696. The constables followed Graham's vehicle, which was seen to travel between lanes before it "veered aggressively" onto a slip road towards Callerton Lane.
Ms McKelvin continued: "The officers saw the vehicle collide with a barrier on the opposite lane and it came to a stop facing into oncoming traffic. They saw the occupant get out the vehicle and run away down an embankment but he slipped and fell on his back and was detained.
"His fiancée was in the passenger seat of the vehicle. Both the defendant and his fiancée were uninjured as the airbags had been deployed."
Newcastle Magistrates' Court heard that Graham, who was also convicted of drink driving in 2019, failed a breath test, giving a reading of 110mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath when the legal limit is just 35mcg. He told a Probation officer he'd been drinking heavily at a barbecue the night before and was on his way back from viewing a wedding venue when the accident happened.
Janice Hall, defending, told magistrates: "He's full of shame and remorse and says he will regret this for the rest of his life. He's a professional and is currently working as a buyer."
