Police who stopped a lorry driver who was more than six times the legal drink-drive limit on the A14 found several bottles of whiskey in his HGV.Darek Smagiel, 55, was seen swerving across lanes on the dual carriageway and was reported by members of the public to the police, who stopped his Iveco lorry on the A14 eastbound at Fenstanton on Monday (13 July) afternoon.In a roadside breath test, he blew 221 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, more than six times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes. Two hours after his arrest in custody, he gave an evidential reading of 121.Smagiel, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and dangerous driving at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (14 July) and was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, and was disqualified from driving for three years.The HGV driven by Darek Smagiel, 55, of no fixed abode, swerving between lanes on the A14 and, inset, a whiskey bottle found inside his cab. Picture: Cambridgeshire ConstabularyPC James Allen, from the road policing unit, said: “Smagiel’s driving fell far below the standards of a careful and competent river. He put members of the public at risk of a serious collision. I would like to thank members of the public who called in to report his driving which has ensured he is now off the roads for a considerable time.”Darek Smagiel, 55, of no fixed abode, is arrested. Picture: Cambridgeshire ConstabularyThe whiskey bottles in Darek Smagiel’s HGV. Picture: Cambridgeshire ConstabularyVideo footage released by Cambridgeshire Constabulary shows a bottle of whiskey in Smagiel’s cab. After reading him rights and arresting him, an officer told him: “I can smell the liquor in here. As simple as that: you are drunk.”
Lorry driver was six times drink-drive limit on A14 and had whiskey bottles in his cab
