A 20-year-old drink-driver who crashed his car on the Laxey to Ramsey coast road has been banned from the roads.

Maximilliano Ingrassia, of Highfield Drive, Baldrine was banned and fined £1,000 when he appeared before High Bailiff Jayne Hughes for sentencing on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Barry Swain told the court that on October 31 at 9.20pm, there was a single vehicle crash on the coast road at Dhoon corner.

The car, driven by Ingrassia, had been heading towards Laxey at the time.

The officer who attended the scene described visibility as being poor with rain and fog making driving conditions difficult.

Ingrassia identified himself as the driver of the car and the officer believed there to be a smell of alcohol on his breath so asked him to undertake a roadside breath test.

That test delivered a reading of 56mg, the legal limit being 35.

Ingrassia had suffered some minor injuries in the crash so officers accompanied him to Noble’s Hospital where he agreed for a blood sample to be taken to allow for a more accurate test to be completed.

That result showed he had a blood alcohol level of 97mg per 100ml. The legal limit is 80mg per 100ml.

During police interview, Ingrassia told officers that he had lost control of his car due to the weather and that the poor visibility had played a factor in this.

He gave ’no comment’ responses when asked by officers to confirm where he had been prior to the crash.

Defence advocate Peter Taylor submitted letters to the court which detailed the high regard his client is held in by friends and family.

Mr Taylor said the incident was a ’one off’ and that his client wanted to be able to put it behind him. He said Ingrassia had been at football training and had then gone to the pub with friends, where he had drunk one drink too many.

Mr Taylor said Ingrassia ’deeply regrets’ his actions and said his reading was ’not exceptionally high’.

Serious

Mrs Hughes said Ingrassia was ’clearly a person of previous good character’ but added he had committed a serious offence and was ’fortunate’ that no one else was involved.

She said his own letter showed ’clear remorse’ and the references from others praised him highly.

However, Mrs Hughes added: ’You must have known you weren’t in a position to drive.’

Ingrassia had previously admitted the offence. He was banned from the roads for a year, fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £50.

He will also need to take an extended driving test at the conclusion of his ban should he choose to drive in the future.