A WOODLEY man who was nearly three times over the limit has been given a suspended jail sentence for drink driving on the M4.
Romeo Zingwe, 25 and from Fairwater Drive, has been banned from driving for three years by Reading Magistrates Court at a hearing held on Wednesday, January 25.
Magistrates heard that around 3.40pm on Monday, June 20, Zingwe was driving a white Mercedes A Class that hit the back of an HGV at excess speed on the westbound carriageway between junctions 8/9 and 10.
He provided a positive roadside breath test for Thames Valley Police, and officers’ checks confirmed he had been disqualified from driving since Thursday, June 9, 2022 for a previous drink-driving offence, and he had no insurance.
Zingwe was also found to have 307 milligrammes of alcohol in his urine – the legal limit is 107.
He also failed to nominate the driver at the time of the collision and his Mercedes had two front tyres with exposed cords.
No one was injured.
Zingwe pleaded guilty to one count each of driving a motor vehicle dangerously, driving a motor vehicle when alcohol level above limit, driving while disqualified, using a motor vehicle on a road/public place without third party insurance, failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver/rider of a vehicle when required and two counts of using a motor vehicle/trailer with a tyre with any of the ply/cord exposed.
He was sentenced to 13 months in prison, suspended for 18 months. As well as his driving ban, he had been given an abstinence order, and told to pay costs of £272.
Zingwe was charged by postal requisition on December 15.
Investigating officer PC Greg Jones, of the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit, based at Taplow police station, said: “Romeo Zingwe was extremely fortunate his behaviour did not lead to a more serious incident.
“He was nearly three times over the alcohol limit to drive having only been disqualified from driving 11 days earlier, as well as using a car with two tyres with the cords exposed.
“Thames Valley Police will robustly target offenders who drive dangerously and while over the alcohol limit or disqualified in order to keep the public safe on the roads.
“Those people who commit these offences will be put before the courts and brought to justice.”
