Road ‘menace’ is jailed again 14 years after death crash
A DRINK-DRIVER who was jailed for killing a pedestrian has been locked up again after a judge described him as a ‘menace.’
Daniel Bailey was imprisoned for four years after mowing down Andrew O’Brien while speeding down the wrong side of the road in 2003.
Bailey was said to have been performing a ‘racing corner’ when he struck Mr O’Brien, 39, head-on as he crossed the road in Little Hulton, near Swinton, Salford.
Bailey was one-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit and was driving at 54mph in a 30mph zone when he sped round the blind bend. He was jailed and banned from the roads for five years after a jury found him guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.
Bailey has now been jailed again after ‘narrowly avoiding’ a pedestrian while driving a Peugeot 208 along Fennel Street in Manchester city centre. Passing a 16-week sentence and banning him from the roads for five more years, District Judge Carr said: “You are, in your present state, a menace.”
As the judge spoke Bailey pleaded from the dock: “I will never re-offend again.”
Manchester magistrates court heard how Bailey, 42, was driving ahead of two police officers when he stopped at a junction at 11.30pm on February 22. Prosecutor Shazia Aslam told the court that the driver ‘narrowly avoided’ a pedestrian as he set off through traffic lights.
When stopped by police, the defendant ‘appeared unsteady’ as he got out of the driver’s side of the car, the prosecutor said. Officers noticed that Bailey had ‘red and glazed’ eyes and smelt of alcohol but he refused to give a sample of breath. He was arrested and gave a reading of 123 microgrammes of alcohol in breath – more than three times over the legal limit to drive.
Police found he had been banned from driving until March following a previous drink-driving conviction in November 2015. Bailey was taken to Longsight Police Station where he refused to give a further two breath samples.
During a police interview, Bailey claimed his girlfriend had been driving and said he had slid across to get out of the driver’s side because the passenger door was stuck.
Bailey, of Dales Park Drive, Swinton, admitted failing to provide specimen for analysis, driving without insurance and driving while disqualified.
David Abbott, defending, said team manager Bailey had kept himself ‘out of trouble’ since being jailed 14 years ago. He said he had been with his girlfriend on the night of February 22 to mark the anniversary of her brother’s death and had been drinking.
On the drive back, Bailey’s girlfriend found there was a problem with her car’s suspension and she struggled to control the vehicle. Bailey then took the ‘foolish’ decision to drive the ‘modest’ distance home, said Mr Abbott.