Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Doorman stopped boozy motorist, 33
A HERO doorman chased a drunk driver along a Dundee street and stopped his car — pulling the keys from him to stop him from driving away.
The security guard was worried Silviu Palade, 33, would cause an accident and injure people as he was driving on the wrong side of the road and weaving from side to side as he travelled along King Street and on to Fort Street in Broughty Ferry.
The doorman leapt into action on Sunday after he saw Palade driving away from the pub he had been drinking in.
A roadside breath test revealed Palade was more than six times the legal limit, however he failed to provide further breath tests at police HQ, Dundee Sheriff Court heard. He pleaded guilty to failing to provide two specimens of breath at police HQ yesterday.
Fiscal depute Laura Bruce told the court Palade had walked out of the Eagle Inn pub and witnesses saw him going towards a car, getting in and driving away along King Street on the wrong side of the street. She said he then turned the car around and drove back towards the pub and the witnesses, including the doorman, realised the car was all over t he road. They started to chase after the car in case he injured someone and the bouncer told him to give him the keys. Police were called and Palade disappeared, however when police attended, he returned with a spare set of keys and tried to get into his car and start it up. Officers prevented him from doing so and a roadside breath test showed a reading of 134 mics. He was then taken to Bell Street HQ but would not agree to provide two further specimens of breath and would not provide any explanation, Mrs Bruce said.
Solicitor Nicola Brown told the court Palade had “panicked” when told what the roadside breath test reading was and had failed to provide further tests.
She said in terms of the driving offence, he had driven about 300 metres.
Ms Brown said he had gone to the pub for a drink with a colleague but ended up consuming far more than he had intended and had foolishly decided to move his car away from the restricted parking area he was in to avoid getting a parking ticket the following day.
She said he intended to sell the car to pay for any fine that was imposed.
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael fined Palade £800 and banned him from driving for 16 months. The sheriff rejected the crown’s motion for forfeiture of the vehicle.