A motorist, found to be more than four times the legal alcohol limit, has been handed a driving disqualification after causing a collision in Eastbourne.
The incident unfolded as Daniel Bordea disregarded a red traffic signal, resulting in a collision with another vehicle. This collision left the second vehicle overturned, necessitating the immediate response of law enforcement, the fire department, and the ambulance service.
Subsequently, the 51-year-old was taken into custody by the police. During his court appearance, he admitted to driving with alcohol levels exceeding the legal limit, driving without valid insurance, and driving in contravention of his license terms.
At Hastings Magistrates’ Court on September 6, Bordea, who is currently unemployed and resides on Seaville Drive in Pevensey, was sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid community work as part of a suspended prison term. Additionally, he was ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £154 victim surcharge. Furthermore, he has been disqualified from driving for a period of three years.
Fortunately, the occupants of the Volkswagen, a 65-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy from Eastbourne, were transported to the hospital but sustained no serious injuries in the accident.
Specialist officers from the Roads Policing Unit (RPU) promptly arrived at the scene, where Bordea tested positive for an alcohol concentration of 188 micrograms (mcg) per 100 milliliters (ml) of breath at the roadside, significantly surpassing the legal limit of 35 mcg of alcohol per 100 ml of breath.
RPU officer PC Lloyd Archer said: “Bordea had gone through a red light. When he was stopped we noticed he had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and was swaying from side to side on his feet.
“In short, he was drunk.
“The roadside breath test showed he was more than five-times the legal alcohol limit.
“In custody, he later tested positive for 328 milligrams (mg) of alcohol per litre of blood. The legal limit for this test is 80mg of alcohol per litre of blood.
“Bordea was lucky not to have caused more serious harm to either himself or other road users.
“It shows the danger of driving while intoxicated, which is one of the main causes of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads.
“This case demonstrates our determination to catch offenders and take potentially dangerous drivers off our roads.”
