Overturned lorry driver jailed for M11 Stansted crash

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-42144605

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A lorry driver who was almost four times over the legal alcohol limit when he overturned his HGV has been jailed.

Latvian Maris Voitkevics, 45, admitted a charge of drink-driving at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court earlier.

Police had first been alerted to his lorry after a member of the public saw it hit a kerb and almost overturn in the Dartford Tunnel on Saturday.

The vehicle carried on for 46 miles before crashing on the M11 near Stansted Airport at about 10:30 BST.

Voitkevics, whose eyes were "bloodshot and glazed" after he was found, was jailed for 16 weeks and banned from driving for 32 months.

He was breath tested and had 137 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

Prosecutor Kathy Wilson said before the lorry overturned, a car in lane two "had to accelerate rapidly in order to avoid being in the path of the HGV".

"The [police] officer said it's only because of the actions of that car driver that an even more serious incident didn't occur," she told the court.

In his defence, Paula Fell told the court Voitkevics recalled "having drunk some very strong lager the night before" and concedes it would have put him over the limit "substantially" the next day.

The M11 northbound was closed from 11:00 on Saturday until about 02:00 on Sunday after the lorry's diesel tank leaked fuel on to the carriageway.

Highways England thanked drivers for their patience, saying the "recovery was complex".