Medway drink driver caught swerving along M25 drove at oncoming traffic along A25 at Sevenoaks before crashing into a roundabout
Published: 14:00, 21 January 2024
A motorist way over the drink-drive limit was spotted “swerving from lane to lane” along the M25 before driving the wrong way at traffic and crashing into a roundabout.
So appalled were other drivers at the sight of Walerij Mirosznikow’s driving skills they started to follow him while calls were made to alert the police of the danger posed.
The 52-year-old, from Medway, was seen swerving from lane to lane in his Toyota Yaris along the busy stretch of motorway near Westerham.
He drove at excessive speed and was then spotted breaking for no reason before exiting the motorway at the A25, near Sevenoaks.
Mirosznikow was later found to be almost four times the legal drink-drive limit.
A court prosecutor said he had one of the “highest readings” they had ever dealt with as they detailed how the drink-driver had driven over a grass verge to get to the opposite carriageway.
He then drove the wrong way along the road at oncoming traffic and managed to get his car in the middle of oncoming vehicles, a court heard.
Mirosznikow then got back onto the other carriageway before crashing his Toyota into a roundabout in Beggars Lane, Westerham.
The police arrived at the scene shortly after 2pm on July 9, last year and Mirosznikow, of Hannah Close, Chatham, was given a roadside breath test and blew 101 and failed the test and was promptly arrested.
He was later charged with drink-driving, dangerous driving and driving without a licence and pleaded guilty to all three offences when he appeared in the dock at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court earlier this month.
James Irving, prosecuting, told the court it was one of the highest readings he had ever dealt with as Mirosznikow, who is originally from Russia, blew 136 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.
He also told the court the defendant had driven dangerously on the M25 and A25 at Sevenoaks, Sundridge and Westerham and in Beggars Lane, Westerham.
Mr Irving added: “He was seen driving by two different witnesses on the M25 between junctions two and three and he was swerving from lane two into lane three and then back to lane one and was also seen swerving back to lane three and then back to lane two.
“The witnesses saw him driving at erratic speeds and then breaking without reason and then he exited on the A25 and did a sharp right and the car then went on the grass verge and he drove over it in an attempt to get to the other lane and then did a five-point turn and drove towards oncoming traffic.
“At this point an unknown member of the public opened his car door and told him to stop driving, but he continued to proceed to drive into oncoming traffic which had to come to a standstill and then he drove his vehicle through the middle of the traffic and was going the wrong way along the A25 and then he got on the correct carriageway and the witnesses follow him.
“He then crashed into a roundabout on Beggars Lane and there was front end damage to the vehicle and then officers arrived and he was still in the driver’s seat and he failed the roadside breath test and officers felt he was intoxicated.
“He blew 101 which is above the legal limit, but a further breath test saw him blow 136 microgrammes of alcohol and it is the highest reading I’ve ever come across and of course, he didn’t hold a driving licence.”
The prosecutor also told magistrates Mirosznikow had no previous convictions, but said aggravating factors of the driving offences were the fact he crashed his vehicle and was well over the legal limit and that the sentencing guidelines suggested 36 weeks custody for the offences.
Tahir Saeed, defending, said his client did hold a British licence, but it was only provisional and that he’d had it since December 2022 and that he was on universal credit.
Magistrates decided to send the dangerous driving and drink-driving offences to Maidstone Crown Court to be sentenced as they felt their sentencing powers were insufficient/
They placed Mirosznikow on an interim driving ban until then and ordered a pre-sentencing report be carried out on him before the hearing.
However, they did sentence him over the no licence offence as it’s punishable by way of a fine only.
Mirosznikow was fined £40 for the offence and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £16.
The date of his sentencing hearing at the crown court is yet to be fixed.
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KentOnline Court Reporter