A man has been jailed for “serious” dangerous driving and refusing to give a sample after he was arrested at a French restaurant in town.
38-year-old Daniel Huidan was jailed for 14 months for one count of dangerous driving, one of failing to stop for a police officer, and one of failing to provide a breath specimen.
The Royal Court heard this morning how a member of the public had seen Huidan pulling out in front of him and proceeding to drive “all over the road, steering into the middle of the road and along the side of the road”.
The other driver described it as “incredibly dangerous and the worst [driving he had] ever seen”.
He added: “I was scared for all road users and pedestrians and I couldn’t believe he didn’t crash into another vehicle or person.”
Huidan’s pupils were “dilated”, according to the man, and Huidan nearly hit the man’s car. The man called the police.
Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam described how a police officer tried to get him to pull over, and that Huidan slowed down but didn’t come to a full stop. During the pursuit, Huidan skipped three more red lights.
Breath test refused
Huidan eventually abandoned his car on Moneypenny Lane, about 3.3 miles from the Royal Showground and 3.1 miles from where he was first seen by the police officer. He was found at the restaurant Colmar, where he was arrested.
Huidan refused a roadside breath test and was taken to the police station, but when he got there, he was “rude” to police officers.
He told them: “I’m doing this every day. It’s the first time you caught me, I’m a d***head every day.”
Though he agreed to do a breath test, the advocate said he failed to give a sample “despite clear instructions”, and refused a second attempt.
Advocate John Borg, defending, said Huidan “wishes to serve his sentence in custody and start afresh at the end of his sentence”.
He said the incident was a one-off and the comments made to police were “flippant”.
“He is not suggesting that he has done the act… I ask the court to disregard those as not true.”
“He cannot explain why he did what he did”
Huidan had strong character references and had written a letter of remorse.
The court heard that he didn’t want to shift the blame to someone else, and his lawyer added: “He doesn’t want to suggest that his drink was spiked. He cannot explain why he did what he did.”
“This is a one-off mistake,” he said.
Handing down the court’s sentence, Commissioner Sir Michael Birt said: “This is a prolonged piece of thoroughly dangerous driving which put other road users at risk of serious injury.”
The Commissioner continued: “It is a matter of pure chance that no-one was injured or worse as a result of your dangerous driving that evening.”
He added: “But it does appear to be wholly out of character.”
Huidan was sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment for dangerous driving and four months for failing to provide a specimen, with no separate sentence for failing to stop.
He was disqualified from driving for three years and will have to retake his test when his ban comes to an end.
Though he could have been deported, both lawyers and the court agreed that he shouldn’t be. The Commissioner warned Huidan that he would be at risk of deportation if he committed any more offences.
Commissioner Birt was presiding with Jurats Andrew Cornish and David Le Heuzé.
