A Paget man who caused a collision by driving through a red light has been banned from the road for drinking and driving.

Aaron Garrett, 37, pleaded guilty to a single count of driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit in an incident on April 4.

The court heard that shortly after midnight, Garrett was travelling east on Reid Street when he passed through a red light at the junction with Spurling Hill, leading to his car striking a second vehicle.

No one was injured in the crash, however both vehicles were damaged.

When officers arrived on the scene, Garrett identified himself as the driver of the car and, during the conversation, officers noted that his breath smelled of alcohol and his eyes appeared red and glazed.

Asked if he had been drinking, he said he had.

He subsequently consented to a breath test, which revealed a lower reading of 223mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, almost triple the legal limit of 80mg.

Addressing the court, Garrett apologised for the incident, saying: “I made a mistake and I realise that I could have injured someone. It’s not like me at all. I have never been in trouble with the law at all.”

He added that he was scared by the incident, and has not drunken anything since.

Magistrate Tyrone Chin banned Garrett from driving all vehicles for 18 months, and further ordered that he pay a $1,500 fine.

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