A drunk-driver who travelled down the wrong side of the M4 motorway for 30 miles claims he can't even remember getting in the car. James Brennan who was three times over the driving limit was nearly involved in multiple dangerous collisions with oncoming traffic had it not been for the quick reactions of other drivers.
Police attempted to stop the 55-year-old to prevent any crashes as officers blocked off junctions to stop vehicles joining the M4, Wales Online reports. Nine cop cars also shadowed the intoxicated driver in a silver Renault Megane as he sped uncontrollably down the motorway.
Brennan later told officers he could not remember anything between leaving the pub and waking up in a prison cell. A judge who sentenced the defendant to jail told him he was lucky to still be alive.
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that on November 28 at around 12.30am police received reports of a vehicle heading westbound on the M4 on the wrong side of the road near the Cardiff West junction. A roads policing officer then managed to catch up with the car near the turning for Pyle
The court heard Brennan was hitting speeds of 85mph as he travelled westward in the east-bound lane, only just missing a series of head-on collisions with oncoming cars, vans and lorries. Other motorists driving in the right direction were forced to take evasive action to dodge getting hit.
Weather conditions at the time of the incident were heavy rain with patchy fog and at one point Brennan was heading straight towards two HGVS that were driving side-by-side down a two lane stretch of motorway. A 'stinger' device was deployed by officers as he raced through Port Talbot which successfully deflated the Megane's tyres.
The defendant continued to drive before stopping on the approaches to the Briton Ferry bridge but he refused to get out of the car. Police were forced to smash the Renault's windows with their batons and the prosecutor said the defendant smelled strongly of alcohol and urine after he was found to have wet himself.
The court heard a roadside breath test confirmed the driver was three times over the drink-drive- limit but he refused to complete a subsequent evidential test at Swansea Central police station. Mr Pulling revealed that Brennan was interviewed 'much later' that day and he told police he had spent the day drinking in a Wetherspoons and in a Chaplin's bar.
James Brennan, of Blaencaerau Road, Maesteg, had previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and to failing to provide a sample for analysis when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He also had previous convictions for five offences which included driving with excess alcohol and false imprisonment. as well as cautions for assault and drug matters from the Met Police in London Brennan.
Hywel Davies, for Brennan, said there could be no mitigation as far as the offence was concerned as it was understood it was an unacceptable crime. He said the defendant had no recollection of driving, and said when Brennan learned what happened, he was reminded of his sister who died in a car crash as a teenager.
The barrister said the defendant had worked as a researcher interviewing social housing tenants about their homes but was currently training to be a counsellor. Judge Geraint Walters noted that it was 'quite astonishing' that the defendant had made it from Cardiff to Briton Ferry in the wrong carriageway without one single accident.
Even though the motorway was reasonably quiet at the time of the incident, he told him: "How you are still alive I do no know, I really don't." The judge added that police police had 'done everything they could' to avoid any accidents that night.
Brennan was handed a 12 month prison sentence with a one third discount for his guilty pleas. He must serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
He also received a two-and-a-half years driving ban and is required to pass an extended test before he can get his licence back.
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