Video: speeding drink driver jailed after crashing into house

A drink driver who was travelling at three times the speed limit before he crashed into a house in Poole has been jailed.

James Reade was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court to six months in prison after admitting offences of dangerous driving and drink driving.

The 47-year-old of Sheppards Field, Wimborne was also banned from driving for two years and six months.

At around 7.20am on 17 November 2019, Reade left an address in Bournemouth in his Volkswagen Scirocco and travelled to Poole.

His journey was captured on his vehicle’s dashcam, which showed him driving to Alder Road with the windscreen misted up, limiting his visibility of the road ahead.

Reade went to a drive-thru McDonald’s before returning to Alder Road, where his speed reached up to 93mph in a 30mph zone.

As he reached the roundabout junction with Ashley Road, he failed to slow sufficiently and struck a traffic island and the roundabout before colliding with a property in Ashley Road.

The force of the collision caused structural damage to the home, whose occupant was inside at the time and witnessed the crash.

Reade fled the scene and was located shortly afterwards at an address in Bournemouth following enquiries by officers.

He failed a breath test and was arrested before being taken to hospital as a precaution.

Police Constable Dave Cotterill, of the traffic unit, said: "James Reade’s driving was extremely reckless and it is fortunate that nobody was seriously hurt by his actions.

"We are committed to tackling drink drivers who present a risk to other road users and this case is an example of the dangers that can be posed by driving the morning after consuming alcohol, when you can still be over the limit and your judgement and reactions remain severely impaired."