AN UNLICENSED drink driver who tried to walk away from his crashed car before police arrived has been jailed.Oleg Krivenko had been drinking whisky and beer the night before he got into his red Honda Accord and drove along the B1070 between East Bergholt and Holton St Mary.

Grant Sherlock

AN UNLICENSED drink driver who tried to walk away from his crashed car before police arrived has been jailed.

Oleg Krivenko had been drinking whisky and beer the night before he got into his red Honda Accord and drove along the B1070 between East Bergholt and Holton St Mary.

The 31-year-old, who lives in Wenham Lane, Great Wenham, was driving with a friend when he lost control and hit a kerb, causing his car to spin and overturn.

He appeared at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to a string of offences on April 30.

He admitted driving with excess alcohol, driving without due care and attention, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, driving without insurance and failing to stop after an accident. The court heard that Krivenko did not have a UK driving licence.

When police arrived at the crash scene at about 9am on April 20 they found Krivenko and his friend walking away from the scene.

Once Krivenko was found to be the owner of the vehicle, he was breath tested and found to have 67micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Naomi Turner, prosecuting, told the court when police searched the car they found both opened and unopened alcoholic drinks.

She added: “He said he and his friend who was in the car had been drinking the previous night and had left home that morning in order to go to a market.

“He could not remember how the accident happened but did say he was in a hurry to get to the market.”

Speaking through a Russian interpreter, Krivenko, who had no previous convictions, asked the magistrates not to send him to jail.

“I was actually going to report the accident to the police, I was just going to my home from the scene,” he said.

“The speed of the car wasn't high, it was quite slow.

“I wouldn't like to be imprisoned because it's my first conviction. I haven't done it before and I regret what I've done.”

However magistrate Bunty Hunt said the offences were “so serious” that she sentenced Krivenko to four weeks in jail for each offence of driving with driving with excess alcohol and failing to stop.

She added: “You will be disqualified from driving for 24 months.”

Krivenko was given no separate penalty for the other offences but his licence was endorsed.

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