Drink-driver who crashed after failing to obey road closed sign is disqualified from driving
Last updated 16th May 2023
A 22-year-old man who failed to obey a road closed sign while the A7 was shut for resurfacing and ended up colliding with a works van has been disqualified from driving for two years.
Lee Aitken - who previously admitted a charge of dangerous driving - was twice the legal alcohol limit when the incident unfolded around four miles north of Hawick on March the 29th last year.
Selkirk Sheriff Court heard a passenger in the other vehicle suffered bruised ribs in the smash.
Alasdair Fay, prosecuting, said Aitken, who was seen staggering at the scene and throwing a bottle of vodka from his vehicle, protested that the warning lights were too small.
He added: He was picked up by a friend, and later intercepted in Hawick's Commercial Road, where he failed a roadside breath test.
READ MORE: Emergency services called out to report of smash in Borders
Aitken, of Wood Street, Galashiels, also admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting and swearing and making abusive remarks, as well as being in possession of cocaine and cannabis, at Borders General Hospital the following day.
His solicitor, Ross Dow, said his client no longer takes illicit substances.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Janys Scott KC said Aitken was lucky the outcome wasn't worse.
In addition to the driving ban, he was made the subject of a 12-month supervision order and must carry out 160 hours of unpaid work, as a direct alternative to custody.
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