A motorist’s poor judgment led to a collision with parked vehicles in Goldstone Street, Hove, as he decided to drive home after a day of consuming alcohol due to not arranging for a taxi.
Warren Knight, the driver in question, was operating a black Bentley Continental during the incident. After the collision, he fled the scene on foot, but was later tracked down by specialized officers from the Roads Policing Unit at his residence, where he had gone to sleep.
Upon being taken into custody, Knight was found to still have a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, even three hours after the collisions were initially reported. Police authorities are underscoring this incident as entirely avoidable if Knight had made the responsible choice of securing a taxi rather than operating a vehicle in his inebriated state.
Warren Knight appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on September 21, where he admitted to driving with an alcohol level above the prescribed limit. As a result, he has been banned from driving.
The incident itself was reported near the railway tunnel at the intersection of Conway Street and Fonthill Road around 1:30 am on July 30. Officers were able to trace the vehicle back to Knight as the registered owner.
Knight, who works as a housing property manager on Hill Drive in Hove, failed a roadside breath test. In custody, his breath test revealed 85 micrograms (uhg) of alcohol per 100 milliliters (ml) of breath, well above the legal limit of 35uhg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.
During his interview, Knight admitted to having consumed alcohol since the previous day’s lunchtime and had initially intended to arrange a taxi for his journey home. However, unable to secure one, he ultimately resorted to driving his own vehicle.
Knight attributed the collision to a distraction inside the car, such as the radio, and acknowledged the error of drinking and driving.
As a result of his actions, Warren Knight has been disqualified from driving for 22 months and has been ordered to pay a £2,300 fine, along with a £920 surcharge and £85 in court costs.
Speaking after the case, RPU officer PC Christine Clack said: “Knight’s actions were reckless, he was extremely lucky not to have caused serious harm to himself or anyone else on the road.
“Drink-driving is one of the main causes of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads.
“Taking steps to prevent drink-driving, such as booking a taxi or walking home are some of the easiest ways to prevent drink-driving and the risks this poses.
“Knight apologised for his behaviour, and has had to pay a high price for his poor decision to get behind the wheel that night.”
