Driver ‘couldn’t see’ after downing half-bottle of whisky
AN uninsured driver who bought a car downed half a bottle of whisky, found he couldn’t see, and smashed it into two parked cars.
Hiwa Sabir bought the VV Golf for £400 intending to sell it, Bristol Crown Court heard.
But, while on a suspended jail term, he drove while over the drink limit, crashed and walked off with the car keys and log book.
Police arrested him near to the scene.
Sabir, 29, of Hudds-hill Road in St George, pleaded guilty to driving without a driving licence or insurance, driving with excess alcohol and failing to report an accident on Saturday, May 18
The court heard he was in breach of a five-month jail term, suspended for two years in November 2017, for possessing cannabis with intent to
supply.
Judge James Patrick jailed him for a total of five months.
He told Sabir: “You deliberately bought a car. You drove it while uninsured and while you were drunk.
“It was a serious offence. It was a dangerous offence.
“It could have caused any amount of damage to people going about their lawful business that night.”
Sabir was banned from driving for 18 months, from the date of his release from prison.
James Haskell, prosecuting, said that police called in to deal with the incident found Sabir near the scene of the smash.
Mr Haskell said: “He was clearly drunk. He was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.
A test revealed Sabir had 79 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The limit is 35.
Sabir explained that after downing half a bottle of whisky he couldn’t see properly and smashed into two parked cars.
Alistair Haggerty, defending, said that his client had been born in Iraq, fled because of war and came to the UK as an asylum seeker.
But when he wasn’t able to work he turned to alcohol as a crutch, the court was told.
Mr Haggerty said his client had wanted to sell the Golf for a small profit.