Boss who drove drunk at 70mph in 30 zone spared jail... because his 6 staff rely on him
A COMPANY boss who took police on a 70mph drunken car chase has avoided jail after telling a judge his six staff members and family need him.
Michael Shankland, 29 – who had only recently had his driving licence returned following a previous drinkdriving ban – had attended a friend’s birthday party in January.
He was then spotted behaving erratically behind the wheel on his way home, but when officers signalled for him to pull over the father-of-two refused.
He instead jumped a red light and sped off at more than 70mph in a 30mph zone. Shankland, from Stockport, then crashed his Seat Leon in the Trafford Park area of Manchester and was caught by police while attempting to flee the scene on foot.
But yesterday the marketing firm boss dodged custody by persuading a judge that sending him to prison would lead to his six employees losing their jobs and his family suffering because he was the ‘breadwinner’.
Judge Tina Landale told Shankland he had given ‘ no thought’ for his family or employees when he got behind the wheel. Tests showed Shankland had 46 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
He admitted dangerous driving and drink-driving and was banned from the road for three years.
However, the judge agreed to suspend his 12-month jail term at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court.
She said: ‘You don’t deserve the sympathy of the court. You may not have given thought to your family or employees, but I do. The fact is, these people are so reliant on you that it is justified to suspend your sentence.’
Shankland was also ordered to complete 300 hours’ unpaid work and to take an extended re-test at the end of his driving ban in 2020.
The court had heard that Shankland had been banned for drink-driving in 2015, but got his licence back and set up his firm, Castlerock Marketing, in October last year. On January 27 Shankland had been out drinking in Manchester city centre to celebrate a friend’s birthday and decided to drive home at midnight.
Lisa Boocock, prosecuting, said: ‘He was travelling to excess of 70mph in a 30mph built up area.
‘ The driving was dangerous although there were no other road users at that time. The officer continued following the vehicle and then saw the car had crashed and the bonnet was squashed and the defendant and his male companion were both running away.
‘The defendant was shouting that he wasn’t the one who was driving. His male companion said, “Tell them you need to go to hospital and that you hit your head”.’
Richard Dawson, defending, said Shankland was living apart from his partner of eight years and their sons, aged three and five, because of the pressure of the court case.
But he said his client had respon- sibility for taking the children to school and his business would fail if he went to jail.
Mr Dawson added: ‘He employs six people and, because this is a new business, if he lost his liberty it would fail and those six people would lose their jobs. He is also the breadwinner for the family.’
But the sentence provoked out- rage among road safety groups, who said it sent the ‘wrong message’ to drivers.
A spokesman for road safety charity Brake said: ‘Drink-driving is illegal for a reason – because it leads to deaths and serious injuries and causes untold devastation to families and communities.
‘There can never be an excuse for getting behind the wheel after drinking any amount of alcohol and drivers who repeatedly endanger the lives of others by drinking and driving, such as Michael Shankland, should face tough consequences.
‘The suspended sentence in this case sends the wrong message as the driver in question is a repeat offender and wilfully endangered lives. Dangerous driving can be deadly. We need courts and the Government to take these crimes much more seriously.’
‘This sends the wrong message’