Donegal man caught drink driving after crashing car

A south west Donegal man has been put off the road after being caught drunk driving.

Alan Vial appeared at Letterkenny District Court on Thursday. Vial pleaded guilty to charges of drink driving and driving without insurance.

The 38-year-old, with an address of Drumanoo, Killybegs, was brought before Letterkenny District Court from Castlerea Prison, where he is currently being held in custody in connection with another matter.

The court heard that gardai responded to a single vehicle road traffic accident at Meenakillew, Killybegs at 9.10pm on May 26, 2022.

A blue Toyota Avenus was in a drain off the road. Vial failed a road-side breath test and a subsequent test at Glenties garda station confirmed a concentration of 174 micrograms of alcohol per 100 milligrammes of breath.

Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that Vial was ‘fully cooperative’ and there were ‘no issues’ with the accused on the day in question.

The court heard that Vial has no previous matters for no insurance.

Mr Patsy Gallagher, solicitor for Vial, said the insurance matter could not be clarified due to his client’s ‘current residence’. He said Vial had given firm instruction to deal with the matter.

Since he went into custody earlier this year, Vial has gone back to the gym and has begun courses in prison.

Mr Gallagher said there was never any indication that these matters would be contested.

For driving without insurance, Vial was convicted and fined €150 and disqualified from driving for two years. On the drink-driving charge, Vial was convicted and fined €150 and put off the road for two years. The driving bans are to run concurrently.