A drunk driver from Ripon who failed to stop for police in a village near Harrogate has been banned from driving for 14 months.
Jonathan Michael Peter Harrison, 42, of Risplith, near Ripon, led officers on a pursuit along winding, wet country roads in Killinghall.
He was arrested after his manner of driving caught the eye of officers on patrol in Killinghall in the early hours of November 26 last year.
According to North Yorkshire Police, Harrison failed to stop when requested and drove his pick-up erratically along country roads for about 20 minutes. His vehicle finally came to a stop when he drove onto the driveway of a farm.
He refused to get out and officers had to use force to extract him. He smelled of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred.
He refused to provide a breath test at the scene and was taken to hospital to be checked over, where he agreed to provide a specimen of blood that showed his alcohol level to be almost 50 percent over the legal limit.
He was charged with drink driving, driving without due care and attention, failing to stop for a police officer and obstructing a police officer.
He pleaded guilty to all offences and was sentenced on Thursday this week.
Investigating Officer, PC Lewis Grainge of North Yorkshire Police’s specialist operations unit, said:
“Mr Harrison put other road users in danger through his drunk and erratic driving. The result is that he has now lost his licence and must take an extended driving test.
“He had no consideration for other members of the public using the roads or those living in the residential areas in which he drove through. It was fortunate that no-one was injured during this incident and Mr Harrison facing more serious charges.”
Read more:
- Ripon man denies impersonating police officer to steal scooter
- Police investigate death following industrial accident at farm
Blubberhouses crash: lorry driver banned for being three times over limit
A lorry driver who lost control on the A59 at Blubberhouses on Tuesday was three times over the drink-drive limit.
Jacek Borowski, 51, from Poland lost control of his HGV heading down the hill.
His vehicle blocked the road completely for most of the day, causing significant disruption on the main route between Harrogate and Skipton.
Nobody else was involved or injured.
The lorry blocked the road for most of the day.
North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today Borowski had been banned within 24 hours of the incident. It added:
“Officers breathalysed the driver who blew 92 micrograms of alcohol in 100 milligrams of breath – almost three times the legal limit.
“He was remanded into custody immediately and put before York Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 19 April where he pleaded guilty to driving over the prescribed limit and was disqualified from driving for 23 months.”
Read more:
- Harrogate firefighters release images of Blubberhouses collision
- ‘It will hurt businesses’: Lib Dem councillor to vote against Harrogate’s Station Gateway
High speeds and alcohol contributed to young Harrogate man’s fatal crash, inquest hears
A young Harrogate man died when his car left the A59 as he drove home after drinking heavily, an inquest has heard.
Samuel Ronald Gibson, known as Sam, was 24 when the fatal collision occurred in the early hours of March 13 last year.
His Peugeot 208 spun off the road, collided with a tree, lifted up and landed in a ditch close near Poppleton at around 3.30am, today’s inquest was told by a police investigator.
A toxicology report after his death found he had 201mg of alcohol in his blood, against the legal limit of 80mg.
A statement from his colleague and friend Sophie Rothwell was read at the inquest held at the Coroner’s Court in Northallerton this afternoon. She said:
“When Sam was sober, he knew drink driving was wrong. However, when he went out it was like there was no controlling or stopping him and it wasn’t possible to reason with him…
“I would describe [Sam] as an unsafe driver [even when sober]. He drove very fast, exceeding the speed limit and I didn’t feel safe as a passenger.”
The court heard a statement from Sam’s mother, Jennifer Perkins, who said he had “always had a strong work ethic”, beginning with a paper round in his teens. He later moved into hospitality, working at Revolucion de Cuba and then Sainsbury’s in Harrogate.
The former Rossett School student had been manager at the Cosy Club bar in York for three-and-a-half years before moving to the Ivy in early 2022.
After passing his driving test at 18, Sam lost his licence aged 20 when he was convicted of drink-driving. When he had his licence back, Ms Perkins said he was “always very careful and cautious about not driving when he knew he would be drinking”.
However, in the few months prior to his death, she said there had been a couple of occasions when he had driven home after drinking.
Friends also said Sam was known to drive after drinking. Some had tried to hide his car keys to prevent him doing so, and others had stopped socialising with him.
Read more:
- Rossett School pays tribute to ex-student Sam Gibson, 24
- Police plea to call out drink drivers amid increasing Harrogate district incidents
In statements, colleague Sophie Rothwell and her boyfriend Max Bradford said they had been out with Sam in York on the night he died.
They said he had drunk lager, prosecco, wine, beer and spirits between around 8pm on Saturday, March 12 and 1.30am the following day.
Ms Rothwell said:
“He was so drunk that, at one bar, he couldn’t stand up properly and kept falling down.”
Sam stayed out after his friends went home, and he went to a nearby food van for something to eat.
Sam’s car was discovered in a ditch by the A59 around 7am the next morning.
The inquest heard he had suffered a “catastrophic” brain and spinal cord injury, described by the doctor performing the post-mortem as “an entirely unsurvivable event” which would have killed him almost instantly.
Forensic collision investigator PC Richard Barker said Sam had been wearing a seatbelt but the airbags in the car had not deployed, showing signs that they had previously activated and not been properly repaired.
Although he could not say for certain how fast the car was travelling, PC Barker believed it was in excess of the maximum speed at which the car could navigate the bends of the road.
North Yorkshire coroner Jonathan Leach concluded Sam had died as a result of the collision, saying:
“It would appear that Sam was driving along the A59 at speed and, I suspect as a result of the alcohol he had drunk, his concentration and his ability to drive properly was impaired.
“I suspect he over-reacted, left the road and struck a tree, and died at the scene.”
‘Devastation’
In their statements, both Ms Rothwell and Mr Bradford described Sam as a reliable friend and a good colleague who was the “life and soul” of both his workplace and any party.
Ms Rothwell added:
“Sam was the most reliable friend you could have asked for. He was the person you could call at any time and losing him has left a massive hole in my heart.”
Ms Perkins’ statement said Sam was a “nice young man” who had looked after her when she lost her sight and had taken gifts to an elderly neighbour who had moved into a care home. She added:
“While Sam made bad judgements and mistakes in relation to driving, this is the kind of loving, caring person Sam was and how I wish for him to be remembered.”
She added:
“I can’t express in words just how much devastation losing Sam has left behind. The whole family are suffering as a result. I can’t believe he has gone.”