A Southampton man was banned from driving for a year after refusing to submit to a breath test.

Magistrates’ Court heard that Omari Esdaille, 37, was arrested on Boxing Day after police received a report of a car leaving the scene of a traffic collision near Four Star Pizza in Sandys.

Officers travelling towards the scene saw Esdaille travelling at high speed over Somerset Bridge and, noting that his car matched the description of the one involved in the crash, pursued him.

Esdaille was stopped on Rose Hill, Southampton, and when talking to him officers noticed that his breath smelled like alcohol and he appeared unsteady on his feet. Asked if he had been drinking, Esdaille said he had not.

He was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving, and said to the officers: “So a white man hit my car and I’m getting arrested?”

Esdaille was subsequently taken to Hamilton Police Station, where he refused to provide a sample of breath for testing.

Appearing in court this morning Esdaille pleaded guilty to the offence of refusing a breath test, but denied the suggestion by the prosecutors that he had left the scene without first giving the other driver his name and insurance — something he was not charged with.

“I did stop and give my information,” he said. “The insurance company called me to confirm that.”

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo banned Esdaille from driving all vehicles for 12 months and fined him $800 for the offence.

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