Drunk shop worker crashed after being sent home
Published 3 Oct 2012 08:24
A 31-year-old Asda employee sent home for being drunk at work crashed into a colleague's car as he drove out of the supermarket's car park, Fermanagh Court has heard.
Ciaran Philip O'Doherty didn't stop and when police caught up with him he was over three times the legal alcohol limit.
He was fined £500 and banned from driving for 18 months when he appeared at Fermanagh Court.
He admitted driving with excess alcohol, failing to stop and report the crash, not having the supervision of a qualified driver and not having a vehicle test certificate.
A prosecutor told the court that on August 25, police were called to the Asda store in Enniskillen in relation to a hit-and-run crash. The driver of a blue Vauxhall Vectra had fled the scene. Police were given the registration of the Vectra and on checking it they discovered it belonged to O'Doherty, an employee of Asda. He was found at home about five minutes later, still in his Asda uniform. He failed a preliminary breath test, was arrested and taken to Enniskillen Police Station, where an evidential sample produced an alcohol reading of 115 - more than three times the legal limit of 35.
The court heard that O'Doherty had appeared hazy at work and had been sent home because of his intoxication.
The prosecutor said O'Doherty was shown CCTV pictures of the incident and accepted it was his car and that he left the scene of the crash.
Defence solicitor, Mr. Bernard Corrigan, said there were quite a number of factors going on in O'Doherty's life at the time and he acknowledged he was drinking more than he should have been. There was a letter from his GP indicating this appeared to have been a wake up call.
Mr. Corrigan said it was not entirely clear if Asda was going to terminate O'Doherty's employment, which was an indication of how he was regarded. He accepted his behaviour was totally unacceptable and he had damaged a fellow employee's car. He had one previous conviction in 2003.
District Judge Liam McNally said he would take into account O'Doherty's admission of guilt at an early opportunity however it was a bad case aggravated by a high reading, his involvement in a crash and him driving off afterwards.
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 02 Oct 12
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.
