A drink driver crashed a 20-tonne lorry into a field alongside an A-road near Chiseldon.
Joseph Ceaser, 39, appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court this morning (27 September) where he entered a guilty plea to driving whilst over the prescribed alcohol limit.
Crown prosecutor Siobhan Oxley said Wiltshire Police received calls from members of the public reporting the erratic driving of a lorry on the A346 between Swindon and Marlborough on 22 August this year.
Shortly afterwards, the vehicle – a DAF fully loaded with tarmac weighing around 20 tonnes – left the road through a seven-foot-tall hedgerow before coming to rest in a crop field.
The defendant, of Merestone Road, Hereford, was seen leaving the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) and witnesses described him as appearing “drunk”.
Police officers and paramedics who attended the scene firmly believed he had been intoxicated at the time of the collision.
Having provided a positive reading on the roadside breath test, he was arrested and taken to custody. He provided an evidential reading of 102 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.
Defending, James Brookes said his client relies on driving for his job, adding that he had worked for Complete Utilities for about seven years.
Phil Yardly, the firm’s reinstatement and logistics manager wrote a raving review of Ceaser for the court. It, in so many words, stated he was a hard-working professional who put health and safety first.
“He is so remorseful and is already taking steps to address his criminality”, Mr Brookes said as he announced the defendant’s booking in on an alcohol programme.
He quickly pointed out that Ceaser doesn’t have an alcohol dependency problem and that this incident was a one-off.
District Judge Joanna Dickens said: “The really serious thing about this is it was a truck full of tarmac. The bigger the truck, the more damage it can do.
“It’s lucky not to have been charged with death by dangerous driving. That vehicle you had literally could have ended the lives of people, or caused serious injury.”
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order including 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Ceaser must also complete an alcohol treatment requirement, meaning he must complete any alcohol programmes as ordered by the probation service.
Judge Dickens also imposed a 24-month driving ban, which could be reduced by 25% if he completes a drink-drive rehabilitation course.
