By 
A DUNGANNON man who fled the scene of a collision and was later found intoxicated – in bed with his shoes still on – by police, has been disqualified from driving and handed a fine.
Appearing before Dungannon Magistrates Court was Nathan Brady (28) of Eastvale Avenue. The court heard that on October 29 last, police received a report of a one-vehicle collision in the Moygashel area.
Upon appearing at the scene, officers discovered that the driver had fled. Police attempted to contact the registered driver, without success.
When a recovery vehicle arrived at the scene, police were told that Brady’s father, who was on holiday at the time, had been contacted by his son to arrange the recovery.
Police eventually spoke to Brady on the phone and noted that he ‘sounded drunk’.
Brady was later located at an address in Moygashel where police found him lying in a bed fully clothed.
He told officers that he had consumed four cans of beer prior to the collision but had consumed more following the incident.
A defence solicitor noted that, when police eventually located Brady, he fully cooperated and admitted to the charges.
Brady was described as a father-of-two who suffered with mental health issues.
On the evening of the collision, it was said that Brady had tried to drive to a local shop after watching a game of football.
It was also stated that a driving disqualification would have a ‘huge impact’ on both his family and work life.
District Judge Rafferty said that Brady had evaded police for four hours in order to avoid them detecting alcohol in his system.
Brady was handed a total of £400 in fines and disqualified from driving for 16 months.
