Drink-driver who crashed into roundabout is jailed

A DRINK-DRIVER who crashed his car into a roundabout in the early hours of the morning has been jailed.

Carl Collings (25), of Eastwood Court, Rotherham, was more than two-and-a-half times the legal alcohol limit when he crashed his Renault Clio into a barrier at St Ann’s Roundabout at around 12.40am on June 16.

He was jailed for eight months at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday) and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

A Tesco worker who was on a cigarette break saw Collings drive at an inappropriate speed and crash into a barrier at the roundabout, Ms Jessica Southcote-Want, prosecuting, told the court.

Footage captured by a security camera showed Collings running away from the scene and panned round to see his vehicle had crashed into the barrier.

Collings’ girlfriend was sat in the front of the car but was not injured in the collision, Ms Southcote-Want told the court.

She told police Collings’ name and address and police found him at home 40 minutes after the incident, “clearly in drink and with an injury to his forehead”.

Collings was found to have 92mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath — the legal limit is 35mg.

Ms Southcote-Want said Collings was given a suspended sentence in January last year for fraudulently issuing himself more than £10,000 in refunds while working at a register office in Sheffield.

Ms Joy Merriam, mitigating, told the court that on the night of the incident, Collings’ girlfriend had wanted to leave her car and get a taxi home.

But she became involved in a heated argument with another woman who threatened to “go inside and get her crew” to assault her.

“On hearing this, the defendant foolishly decided to drive the vehicle,” Ms Merriam told the court.

Collings admitted at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on July 17 to drink-driving, driving without due care and attention, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and driving without insurance.

Sentencing, Judge Robert Moore said it was “a matter of luck” that neither Collings nor his girlfriend had been seriously injured in the incident.

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