Drink-driver involved in late-night crash gets banned from the road
A man who was found to be drink-driving after a late-night crash has been banned from the road for 12 months.
Dudley Magistrates' Court heard how police attended the scene of a crash in Waterloo Road, Smethwick, shortly after midnight on Sunday, February 5, which had left a damaged Ford Fiesta in the middle of the road.
Once there officers found Mohammed Ahmed in the back of the car throwing items into the road.
Prosecutor Danielle Davidson-James said: "He appeared to be irate and shouting at himself".
She told the court that the 41-year-old told officers he had been driving along the road when his car was hit by another driver who then left the scene. However, the officers said Ahmed struggled to focus on questions and a roadside breath test recorded a result of 83 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
A later test at the police station recorded a result of 57 micrograms, the amount he was charged for. The legal alcohol limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
Ahmed told officers in interview that a friend was driving when the crash occurred, but they made off after the collision.
However, Mrs Davidson-James told the court that CCTV showed he was the only occupant of the Fiesta.
In mitigation, the court was told by Balbir Paul that Ahmed had found out that day that his aunt had died, but his family had hidden her cause of death, and he would "not ordinarily have driven with that amount of alcohol in his system".
The court also heard how the driver of the other car had initially stopped after colliding with Ahmed's Fiesta, but the pair struggled to communicate due to a language barrier. The other driver then left the scene, with Ahmed maintaining he was not at fault for the crash.
Ahmed, of Fountain Road, Birmingham, was given the minimum ban after he admitted drink-driving. He was disqualified for 12 months, which can be reduced by three months if he completes a drink-drive rehabilitation course by early October.
He was also fined £120 and ordered to pay a £48 surcharge and £135 costs.
