Peterborough drink driver who crashed car before trying to run from police banned from the roads

Gabriel Nisipeanu, 28, of Fane Road, Peterborough, was spotted at just before 1.30am on Halloween.

He was driving a red Peugeot 307 at the junction of South View Road and Churchfield Road in Peterborough and was seen on the wrong side of the road, before going over the pavement and turning right into South View Road by an officer in an unmarked police car.

The officer followed the car before it crashed into a barrier on the corner of the junction of Mountsteven Avenue and Fulbridge Road.

Nisipeanu started to run but the officer stopped him and asked him to do a roadside breath test. Nisipeanu gave a reading of 68 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath – the legal limit being 35 microgrammes.

He admitted drink driving and driving without insurance at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday (14 December) and was disqualified from driving for 18 months and ordered him to pay a £120 fine.

PC Natalie Rycraft, who investigated, said: “There is no excuse for drink driving and it is lucky that no-one was harmed by Nisipeanu’s driving; the situation could have been a lot worse.

“I hope the driving disqualification makes Nisipeanu think about his actions that day and from now on.

“Drink and drug driving is one of the fatal four causes of collisions on our roads, together with speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

“We will do all we can to bring those who drive under the influence of drink or drugs to justice.”

Nisipeanu’s sentence comes as the force cracks down on drink and drug drivers as part of a national campaign this December.

Claire Danks, whose 22-year-old daughter Lauren was killed by a speeding drink driver as she travelled home, is supporting the crackdown and warning that driving under the influence could destroy lives forever.

Last year, 2,244 motorists were caught drink or drug driving across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire; the equivalent to one every four hours.

To report an incident of drink or drug driving, call 101 or 999 in an emergency. People can also report drink or drug driving via a dedicated, confidential hotline.

The hotline: 0800 032 0845 is available 24/7, and gives people the chance to help reduce the number of drink or drug drivers on the roads.

For more information about drink or drug driving, the law and the dangers it can cause, as well as the confidential hotline, visit the force's dedicated web page on driving under the influence.