Driving ban for man found asleep in van while three times over limit in Buncrana

A man was found asleep at the wheel of a van while three-and-a-half times over the drink-driving limit close to his home in Buncrana.

Andrius Labanauskas was put off the road for three years when he appeared at Buncrana District Court.

A 66-year-old of Pairc Mor, Buncrana, Labanauskas told Judge Éiteáin Cunningham when he was put on his election: “I was not aware that reversing the car is an offence.”

Labanauskas did not obtain the services of a legal practitioner and elected to represent himself in court.

Garda Sergeant Emmet Brady told the court that gardai received several reports of a van driving erratically at Pairc Mor, Buncrana on July 20, 2024.

At around 8.41pm, Gardai attended the scene and observed a white Citroen Berlingo parked in the estate. The driver’s door was open and a male, Labanauskas, was asleep in the driver’s seat. Gardai roused Labanauskas, whose speech was slurred and he was unsteady on his feet.

Labanauskas was arrested and conveyed to Buncrana Garda Station where a test showed a concentration of 80 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath - 3.6 times the legal limit.

Sergeant Brady told the court that he was on duty on the evening in question and Buncrana Garda Station received calls from “a number of residents” regarding Labanauskas’s driving.

Labanauskas, who has no previous, convictions pleaded guilty.

Judge Cunningham fined Labanauskas €250, allowing five months to pay, and disqualified him from driving for a period of three years.