Kentish Express Ashford & District
Driver banned from road after ‘swerving into path of lorries’
‘Respectable’ man took drugs at festival
A driver over the limit for three different kinds of drugs was seen swerving on the road before being arrested.
Ethan Byrd-Dowd, from Ashford, appeared in court on Thursday, April 4, where he admitted three counts of driving while above the specified drug limit.
Test results showed that Byrd-Dowd had breakdowns of ketamine, cocaine and MDMA in his system while he was driving on Main Road in Fincham, Norfolk.
Prosecutor Colette Harper explained that on August 14 last year, police were following the black Vauxhall Astra that Byrd-Dowd was driving and noted that it kept swaying onto the other side of the road, despite HGVs approaching from the other direction.
Police also saw him rubbing his head frequently and soon pulled him over, Lynn Magistrates’ Court was told.
A breath test was carried out to see if Byrd-Dowd had been drinking, and the test came back negative.
He was arrested and taken to Lynn’s Police Investigation Centre for further tests - which revealed that Byrd-Dowd had three drugs in his system.
He had 287mcg of benzoylecgonine - a cocaine breakdown - per litre of blood in his system. The legal limit to drive is 50mcg.
He also had 37mcg of methylenedioxymethamphetamine an MDMA breakdown - per litre of blood. The legal limit to drive is 20mcg.
Finally, Byrd-Dowd had
28mcg of ketamine per litre of blood. The legal limit to drive is 20mcg.
In mitigation, George Sorrell said that Byrd-Dowd had recently been to a festival, where he was offered the drugs.
“I ask myself why a respectable man finds himself in this position,” the solicitor said.
“He doesn’t recall taking ketamine. It goes to show if you’re being offered drugs in that situation, you don’t know what is going in them.
“It’s something of an isolated lapse in his character.”
Magistrates disqualified Byrd-Dowd, of Summer Leeze, Willesborough, from driving for three years.
He will also pay a fine of £576 as well as a victim surcharge of £230. Byrd-Dowd will also pay court costs of £105.
‘I ask myself why a respectable man finds himself in this position...’