Mercedes drink driver crashed into car in Abingdon

Sachin Gurung, 38, was behind the wheel of the 69-plate vehicle when it crashed on Drayton Road, Abingdon, on Sunday (May 7) afternoon.

When police got to the scene after 1.30pm, Gurung was trying to retrieve his keys from the witnesses who had removed the set from him.

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Prosecuting, John McCartney told Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Bank Holiday Monday: “Officers spoke to the defendant and they found him to be intoxicated.”

He was arrested and taken to the police station. A breathalyser test showed him to have 132mcgs in 100ml of breath, almost four-times the legal drink-driving limit of 35mcgs.

Appearing before the magistrates in custody, Gurung, of Gainsborough Green, Abingdon, pleaded guilty to drink driving.

Mitigating, Bartek Piasta said his client had been drinking on ‘pretty much a daily basis and to quite extreme levels on a weekend’ since his wife left him in 2019. He described it as a ‘testament to him that he’s kept his job’.

Adjourning the matter for a pre-sentence report from the probation service, chairman of the bench James Macnamara said: “This was a very high alcohol reading - over three times the limit – and it resulted in a crash and damage to your vehicle and another one. We take this extremely seriously.”

Gurung was bailed to return to court on June 1 for sentence.