A Pembroke man who crashed into a tree in Hamilton has been banned from the road after he admitted drunk driving.

Bogdan-Dan Dactu, 30, pleaded guilty to the offence during an appearance in Magistrates’ Court this morning, telling the court that he could not recall anything after the crash.

The court heard that at around 11.30pm on November 20, officers received a report of a single vehicle collision on Reid Street, near the junction with Court Street.

When they arrived at the scene, they found a motorcycle had crashed into a tree on the north side of the street and Dactu laying on the ground nearby.

Dactu admitted that he had been driving the vehicle, telling the officers that his legs were stuck beneath it. Told that his legs were not under the vehicle at all, he continued to say that his legs were trapped.

During the conversation, the officers noticed that his eyes were glazed and his breath smelled of intoxicants.

An ambulance was called and Dactu was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for treatment. While there, officers arrested Dactu on suspicion of driving while impaired.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo fined Dactu $1,200 for the offence, banning him from driving all vehicles for 18 months, adding: “It’s only good fortune that you are still here, and that you didn’t take anyone else out.”

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