Dangerous driver "could have killed people"

Sunday 14 January 2018

A dangerous driver who witnesses estimated was travelling at almost 100 miles an hour, and who later crashed into a low wall narrowly missing a row of petrol pumps, has been given 120 hours' community service.

26-year-old Joshua Gary Warder was recorded on CCTV, and seen by a number of witnesses, leaving Snow Hill car park and driving along La Route du Fort in the early hours of Sunday 12 February last year. He hadn’t switched his car lights on, and was described as swerving all over the road.

At Georgetown, CCTV showed the Renault Clio "mount the kerb near the garage, collide with a low wall, spin approximately 180 degrees and continue down the road."

Just two minutes earlier, footage showed how much more serious the accident could have been – it shows another car parked at the garage and three people getting out of it.

Pictured: The Clio spun around 180 degrees in the area of Georgetown.

One couple who were concerned Warder might crash had turned their car round and followed him. Their hunch proved right, and they were amongst the first people on the scene.

The Clio’s airbag had gone off, and Warder was slumped in the front seat, he was conscious but mumbling and smelled of alcohol. They administered first aid until the Fire Service could cut him out, and paramedics take him to hospital. He suffered only minor injuries.

Police suspected Warder may have been over the drink drive limit, but didn’t breathalyse him at the scene. In hospital, he refused to give a blood sample, telling officers: “I would rather speak to a lawyer who knows what’s going on”. In Court, his defence team claimed he refused to give a sample because he was confused after the accident, and that he denied being drunk – he’d only had one pint of beer.

Pictured: Warder maintained that he had only drunk one pint of beer prior to the crash, which was described by the Bailiff as "serious."

Sentencing, the Bailiff Sir William Bailhache, described the accident as a "serious crash" that could have killed Warder or others, and noted the car could easily have smashed into the petrol pumps. He also noted that, although Warder claimed to be so confused he refused to give a sample, he didn’t seem to be too confused to ask for a lawyer.

Sir William also praised the couple that had come to Warder’s aid. Warder was given 120 hours community service, and told if he didn’t see it through would be sent to prison for four months.