Stoned biker smashes through garden wall into car
A stoned biker crashed through a garden wall into a car just hours after buying a new motorbike. Benjamin Green, 21, had no insurance and claimed he had been on his way to buy some when he crashed off Winchester Road, Countesthorpe, at 11.30pm on Monday, May 22, a court heard.
Green, of Thackney Leys, Kibworth, appeared at Leicester Magistrates' Court[1] on Friday where he pleaded guilty to driving while over the drug limit for cannabis and riding a motorbike with no insurance. The court heard that just five months before the incident he had been convicted of possessing cannabis and was still subject to a conditional discharge.
Prosecutor Nicola Smith told the court: "The owner of a property was woken at 11.30pm by voices outside. He went outside where a motorbike had crashed through the front garden wall into his vehicle.
"He contacted the police. The rider of the bike told him he had just bought the bike that evening and was on his way to get insurance.
"He noticed the male smelled strongly of cannabis."
When Leicestershire Police[3] officers arrived at the scene they also noticed that Green's eyes were "glazed". He was taken to a police station where he answered no comment to questions, while a drug test found that the level of cannabis in his blood was just over four times the legal driving limit.
His blood test showed 8.4 microgrammes of cannabis chemical THC per litre of blood - the limit at which it becomes a driving offence is two microgrammes. The crash caused £300 of damage to the wall and £3,000 of damage to the parked car.
Duncan Jefferies, representing Green, said his client had various medical problems and had since had his provisional driving licence taken off him due to the issues. His medical conditions included autism, dyslexia, bipolar disorder, depression, colitis and gastritis and he was therefore unsuitable for a community order with unpaid work.
He said that Green had been paying the property owner's vehicle insurer monthly instalments to repay the damage to the car. No compensation has yet been paid for the damage to the wall.
The chair of the magistrates' bench, Wendy Boneham, told Green: "We look favourably on the fact you've been paying back the damage on the car, which is to your credit." She said that because of that Green would be getting a fine instead of a community order.
He was fined £200 and ordered to pay £300 compensation to the occupant of the house for the damage to the wall. He was banned from driving for 20 months.
References
- ^ Leicester Magistrates' Court (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Man found with wild animal corpses in freezer says collecting roadkill is a 'hobby' (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Leicestershire Police (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)