Drunken disgrace of a Black Cat
FORMER SUNDERLAND STAR GIBSON CRASHED INTO PARKED CARS
EX-SUNDERLAND player Darron Gibson has been warned he faces a jail sentence after he smashed into numerous cars while nearly three times over the drink-drive limit.
The 30-year-old Republic of Ireland footballer was behind the wheel of his Mercedes 4x4 when he crashed into a taxi and other vehicles on St Patrick’s Day last month.
A court was told the midfielder, who was on his way to meet colleagues at Sunderland’s Academy of Light at the time, left a trail of carnage on Dovedale Road, in Fulwell, as he repeatedly struck parked cars.
The police were then called as Gibson’s Mercedes came to a rest on the pavement, leaving a mass of debris on the road behind him, prosecutors said.
He was arrested after initially blowing a roadside breath test reading of 105 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35.
However, when he was formally tested again at the police station, he was found to have 95 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml and he was charged using that lower figure.
The former Black Cats footballer, who has since had his contract with the club terminated, appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to one count of driving with excess alcohol.
Because it was his second drink driving offence within three years, Gibson was warned he faces a potential prison sentence.
Prosecutor Rebecca Laverick told magistrates that witnesses saw Gibson, who was driving a Mercedes 4x4, crash into a number of cars on the morning of March 17.
Firstly, the court heard, he collided with the driver’s side of a taxi, which was parked on the side of Addison Road, in West Boldon, South Tyneside, to pick up a fare.
Ms Laverick said: “The taxi driver heard a loud bang as his wing mirror fell off from his vehicle.”
The taxi driver followed Gibson for some distance and was “concerned” about the manner of his driving before he reported him to the police.
Ms Laverick said that, in the meantime, a number of witnesses saw Gibson driving on Dovedale Road and collide with a number of parked vehicles. After the collisions, Gibson’s Mercedes ended up “completely off the road and on the pavement”, while debris was scattered all over the road, the court heard. Police attended the scene and Gibson told officers that he had had “two drinks the night before” as he failed the roadside breath test. Ms Laverick said: “His account didn’t coincide with the manner he was presenting in. His speech was slurred and he smelled of alcohol.” The court was told that Gibson was previously convicted of drink-driving, careless driving and failing to stop after an accident in 2015 after he was involved in a serious collision when his car hit three cyclists who were fixing a wheel on the pavement. He was given a community order on that occasion. Gibson’s solicitor, Henry Blackshaw, said his client was undertaking medical treatment for an underlying medical case, which would explain his drinking on this occasion and, most likely, the previous occasion. Mr Blackshaw applied for an adjournment to get a medical report on Gibson before he is sentenced. Adjourning the case until May 25 for the preparation of a pre-sentence report, Mr Randall said: “We feel this is aggravated into the custody band and we’re asking for a pre-sentence report in that band.” Gibson, of Hale Road, Hale, Manchester, was given an interim driving disqualification but was warned he faced a ban of between 36 and 52 months.