Drink-driver crashes into wall and oncoming car

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 15 Nov, 07:01 · Archive

A drink-driver crashed into a wall and then an oncoming vehicle on the A591 near Ambleside.

Christopher Totney, 44, of Rydal Road, Ambleside, crashed into a wall on the A591 at Troutbeck Bridge near White Cross Bay on the evening of 29 October after failing to negotiate a right-hand bend. The oncoming driver had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision before Totney hit the rear passenger side of his vehicle.

Totney was returning from a festival in Bowness, having consumed three large glasses of wine and a bottle of wine in his vehicle. Police recovered a bottle of wine from the footwell of his Volkswagen Golf Estate. When the other driver checked on him after the crash, he found Totney smelt of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and urinated against a nearby wall. Totney's airbags had deployed and he could not exit his vehicle due to damage.

An officer stated in his statement that Totney was 'absolutely leathered', could not stand and could barely speak. Totney told officers he had consumed four drinks. He provided a positive roadside breathalyser test and was taken to hospital for a conduct check before being transferred to custody. His breath analysis showed 93 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, nearly three times the legal limit of 35 micrograms.

How it is being reported

• ‘Absolutely leathered’ drink-driver crashed into wall and oncoming carA DRINK driver was ‘absolutely leathered’ when he crashed into a wall before colliding with an oncoming vehicle, a court heard.Westmorland Gazette · 15 Nov, 06:00
• ‘Absolutely leathered’ drink-driver crashed into wall and oncoming carA DRINK driver was ‘absolutely leathered’ when he crashed into a wall before colliding with an oncoming vehicle, a court heard.NW Evening Mail · 15 Nov, 06:00

In this story: Christopher Totney · Glenn Anderton · Ambleside · A591 · Bowness

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