Hereford crash driver carried on drinking cider after hitting a tree

Dariusz Jedrusik entered a guilty plea when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Prosecutor Ralph Robyns Landricombe said police had been called to reports of a car crashing into a tree in Hereford's Ryelands Street just after 8.20pm on February 3.

Two men were reported to have got out of the car to look at the damage before getting back in and driving off.

Police found the car, a silver Toyota Avensis, parked in Breinton Road with two men sat inside.

"It had significant front-end damage and the air bags had gone off," Mr Robyns Landricombe said.

Jedrusik who told police he was drunk and had been driving, but gave officers a false name, was arrested and taken to A&E for assessment before being taken to Hereford Police Station, where officers discovered his real name after finding his identity card during a search and he was rearrested for obstructing police.

An evidential breath test revealed he had 58 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

In interview, Jedrusik, who has a previous drink-driving conviction, said he had driven from Ross-on-Wye to meet a friend, and had drunk four cans of beer and two large ciders before getting behind the wheel to drive home.

He said he had felt ok to drive but that the car had turned quickly and crashed into a tree.

Jedrusik said he had then moved the car to a "better position" in Breinton Road, where he drank another large cider while trying to work out what to do. He said he had then given false details because he was drunk.

Edmund Middleton, for Jedrusik, said it was not the worst example of obstructing police and that the 57-year-old had admitted everything to police.

"He attributes his behaviour to shock of being in a crash," he said.

"He is very sorry for what happened."

Jedrusik, of Old Market Close, Ross, was disqualified from driving for 36 months and fined £160. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.