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Soap actor admits fleeing crash | Soap actor admits fleeing crash |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas has been fined £2,020 after admitting leaving the scene of a car crash. | Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas has been fined £2,020 after admitting leaving the scene of a car crash. |
The 25-year-old pleaded guilty at Manchester City Magistrates' Court to failing to stop and failing to report crashing his car on the Mancunian Way. | The 25-year-old pleaded guilty at Manchester City Magistrates' Court to failing to stop and failing to report crashing his car on the Mancunian Way. |
The accident involving his Chrysler car happened on 31 October, 2009. | |
Thomas, of Cheadle, who plays builder Jason Grimshaw in the soap, was also given five penalty points on his licence and ordered to pay £35 costs. | |
He was with two friends when he hit crash barriers in Manchester city centre shortly after 0400 GMT. | |
'Technical' offence | |
Defence barrister Nick Freeman told the court that Thomas called police and waited at the scene, but then left when fans began taking photographs. | |
Mr Freeman told magistrates that the situation became "intimidating," so Thomas flagged down a taxi and left for his home. | |
Thomas later voluntarily attended a police station on 6 November and admitted in an interview that he had crashed the car. | |
Magistrates heard that the actor was guilty of a "technical" offence because he did not know the law required a driver to report an accident as soon as possible. | |
Mr Freeman told the court: "He was driving perfectly properly and hit a pool of water and aquaplaned. | |
"The court accepted he was not at fault because he aquaplaned." | |
The crash came just days after he got his licence back after being banned for 21 days for speeding on the M6 toll road. |