Driver claimed ‘kidnap by Islamic male' after crashing drink-drive vehicle
A POLISH motorist who crashed his car after driving over the legal alcohol limit told police he had been kidnapped and held to ransom by an Islamic male threatening to harm his friend.
However, the claim was not accepted by police, prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest magistrates this week, as 47-year-old Pawel Stasiak appeared in the dock.
Stasiak, of Little Road, Hayes, London, pleaded guilty to drink-driving, driving without a licence, and driving without insurance.
The incident began just before 9:00pm on May 9, when Stasiak was seen walking out of the Co-op store in Pembroke. A witness saw him bend down to speak to some children, and believed an inappropriate word had been said. Stasiak then shook the children's hands and got into his car.
'He was then seen driving the wrong way against the flow of traffic,' said Ms Vaughan. 'He was also seen making a praying gesture with his hands before driving off at speed.'
Minutes later, his Toyota RAV4 was found crashed at the entrance to Newton Farm campsite, near Freshwater West. The vehicle had mounted a grass verge, smashed through a fence, and come to rest with Stasiak in the driver's seat and a dog beside him.
He then got out and walked into a nearby field.
'He appeared either intoxicated or in shock, as he was staggering around,' Ms Vaughan said.
Police arrived at the scene but Stasiak initially refused a roadside breath test, claiming he had been kidnapped by an Islamic male and was being ransomed due to threats made against a friend.
He was arrested and taken into custody, where he later provided breath samples with a reading of 60 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.
Supported by a Polish interpreter in court, Stasiak became emotional as he addressed the magistrates.
'I had a huge problem with alcohol, but I stopped drinking for ten years,' he said. 'Then my brother passed away in December, and since then, everything has come back.'
Magistrates disqualified him from driving for 20 months. He was fined £161 and ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £64 victim surcharge.
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