A drunk care worker crashed a car into a tree just days after failing his driving test.
Samuel Saunders-Hackett, 18, pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle whilst over the prescribed alcohol limit at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (23 February).
The defendant, of Carver Close, Stratton St Margaret, also admitted driving without insurance.
Pauline Lambert, prosecuting, said the teenager had attended a funeral on 10 November last year, before returning home and drinking up to six pints of beer.
Feeling peckish at gone midnight, Saunders-Hackett tried to order some food but discovered there were no takeaway restaurants open.
He waited for his dad to leave for work at 2am before taking his Volkswagen Polo and venturing out for food – despite being drunk and not holding a valid driving licence or insurance.
About a mile into this drive, he failed to negotiate a roundabout in Dorcan Way and crashed into a “well-established” tree. The vehicle suffered “significant impact to the front offside”.
Saunders-Hackett called his dad and told him what had happened. This dad rushed to the scene and took his son to the Great Western Hospital with multiple injuries.
At 4.30am, Wiltshire Police were called to the scene by a member of the public who came across the abandoned crash site. An investigation led the officers to the hospital, where they found the defendant and obtained a blood sample.
The sample later returned a reading of 83 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
Ms Lambert said Saunders-Hackett failed his driving test a week prior to the incident.
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Representing himself in court, he said he had been drinking, got hungry and went out to get food when he was unable to order a takeaway.
The defendant confirmed he suffered serious jaw injuries and needed braces following the crash. He also sustained injuries to his knee and ribs.
Saunders-Hackett said he is employed as a carer, looking after multiple service users. He said his dad was helping him with transport, acknowledging that he will be disqualified.
Magistrates sentenced the teenager to a £572 fine and disqualified him from driving for 21 months.
He was offered the opportunity to take the drink-drive rehabilitation course, which will reduce his roads ban by 25% if it is completed successfully.
