England star ‘smelt of alcohol’ after car crash
Witness says he was unsteady and slurring words
JACK Grealish smelt of alcohol and was slurring his words when he crashed his Range Rover during lockdown, a court has been told.
The England and Aston Villa star – wearing mismatching slippers – was also “unsteady on his feet” after the smash in March, a witness claimed.
Grealish, then 24, careered into two parked cars in his £90,000 motor after flouting rules to stay indoors during the first wave of Covid-19.
The midfielder had spent the night at the flat of former teammate Ross McCormack in Dickens Heath, Solihull.
A security guard saw Grealish get into his Range Rover outside the luxury block. He said the £ 130,000- a- week player was wearing a blue hooded top and light shorts, with one black slipper and one white one.
Birmingham magistrates heard Grealish reversed “at speed” across the road and hit a parked van, drove off, then reversed again “swerving left and right” before hitting a Mercedes.
The security guard said Grealish then mounted the kerb and drove into a wall.
Prosecutor Tinofara Nyatanga said the
witness smelled “intoxicating liquor” on Grealish’s breath when they spoke and “also said his speech was slurred and he was unsteady on his feet”.
Grealish gave his details to the security guard and left before police arrived. Officers were later unable to track down the Birmingham-born player, it was said.
Ms Nyatanga said the fact the offence was committed during the Covid-19 lockdown was an “aggravating factor”. The Villa skipper had posted a video on Twitter just hours earlier urging footie fans to stay indoors.
Grealish was not in court because he was training at the team’s Bodymoor Heath complex but admitted driving without due care and attention.
Charges of failing to stop at the scene and of failing to report an accident were dropped. Grealish, of Barnt Green, Worcs, also admitted careless driving in a separate incident last month.
He was clocked at 98mph on the M42 and tailgating other drivers before being pulled over near Villa’s training ground.
The court heard he already has six points and now faces a ban when he is sentenced in person next month.