Witnesses took photos of drink driver fleeing the scene

Friday 30 April 2021

Three men were brought to court and sentenced for drink driving, with the defendant fleeing the scene of the collision on two of those occasions.

Rolands Petrovskis, 29, was witnessed by a member of the public driving erratically on Forest Road at 13:50 on 31 January. He swerved into oncoming traffic several times before eventually colliding with an earth bank and coming to a stop on the wrong side of the road near Forest Service Station.

He left the scene, with witnesses taking photographs of him as he left. Guernsey Police officers found him half an hour later on Rue de la Villette.

In his defence, Advocate Oliver Fattorini said Petrovskis had left the scene because he was “fearful of the consequences.” 

Pictured: Judge Graeme McKerrell oversaw all three convictions.

Petrovskis blew a 93mcg reading at the Police Station, with the limit in Guernsey being 35mcg. It was also revealed that the car wasn’t his either, it belonged to a friend. He was charged with drinking while intoxicated and driving without insurance.

He was handed 160 hours community service for drink driving and disqualified for three years. Additionally he was sentenced to another 60 hours community service for driving without a licence and disqualified for one year, both to run concurrently with the larger sentences.

Meanwhile, Charles Setters, 26, was sentenced after failing to give a specimen of breath after being arrested under suspicion of drink driving.

Setters was seen by a member of the public driving erratically on Route de la Charruee, officers pulled him over and after smelling alcohol arrested him.

At the station he was asked to blow into an intoxilyzer, but failed to blow steadily enough to get a reading four times in a row.

Advocate Sam Steele said his client has a history of anxiety and was overwhelmed with the situation he was in, whilst also highlighting Setters previous record of good character.

Pictured: All three men appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on the same day for sentencing. 

Setters was given an £800 fine and disqualified for 2 years and 9 months.

The third drink driving offence saw a man crash into a parked car and damage the front of a house. Jake Floyd, 25,  also fled the scene and was sentenced to 160 hours community service and three years off the road.