Drug driver banned after running out of fuel and abandoning car on A12
He also admitted to drug driving
Last updated 8th May 2023
A man has been fined and banned from driving after abandoning his car on the A12 at Martlesham last year, having run out of fuel.
31 year old Thomas Crowe, of Horseman Court in Martlesham, was disqualified from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay over £300 in fines and costs at Ipswich Crown Court on April 25.
He admitted to drug driving, using a motor vehicle in a condition likely to cause danger of injury and causing an unnecessary obstruction by a motor vehicle.
Police discovered Crowe's Ford Fiesta abandoned on the A12 on October 8, partially blokcing the inside lane. The car had a smashed widnscreen.
Crowe was arrested after returning to the scene carrying a petrol can. A roadside drugs test gave a positive indication for cocaine.
PC Will Hudson, of the Roads and Armed Policing Team, said: “To drive with that amount of drugs in your system is dangerous enough, but this was then compounded by the fact that the car was not in any state to be driven, with visibility severely impeded by the smashed windscreen.
“Crowe was then also happy to leave his car partially in a live lane of a dual carriageway after he ran out of fuel, which could have also caused a collision.
"Ordinarily when people break down in a dangerous location, they would call the police for help – clearly Crowe was hoping to avoid any attention from us due to the offences he had committed.
“Drug and drink driving is one of the ‘Fatal 4’ main causes of fatal and serious injury collisions and we enforce this 365 days a year.
"Our message is clear – don’t do it, it is not worth the risk.”