Jail for Penrith M6 crash driver four times over drink limit
A driver who crashed by the side of the M6 while more than four times the legal drink-drive limit has been jailed.James Black was found unconscious inside his Ford Ranger on a grass embankment on the northbound carriageway near Penrith, Cumbria, on 18 August 2024.Appearing at Carlisle Magistrates' Court, the 47-year-old from Brannock Place in Newarthill, near Motherwell, admitted driving with excess alcohol.He was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison and must serve a 34-month driving ban when released.
Prosecutor George Shelley told the court: "There were several calls reporting a vehicle all over the road, colliding with traffic cones."On approach [to the scene] police passed three separate collision sites, with debris over three lanes of the carriageway causing danger to road users."Several empty alcohol bottles and cans were found within the vehicle."Black was transported to hospital and gave a blood sample which showed 320 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood - the legal limit is 80mlg. Magistrates heard Black was addressing alcohol issues by regularly attending a clinic since October.His solicitor, Ashley Barnes, said: "He must stop drinking entirely... it is perhaps this offence that has opened his eyes entirely to that."
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