POLICE officers have recorded one of the highest ever breathalyser recordings after pulling over a “wannabe killer” driver.
Cops said the intoxicated driver did “not seem to care at all” after they pulled him over in the early hours of Sunday morning in Tobermore, Londonderry.
The driver’s female passenger even “roared with laughter” at the police and complained about how she was going to get home after being caught.
The driver was so drunk that the roadside breathalyser could not register a reading from the inebriated man, the limit to their machines being 220.
Officer from the Police Service Northern Ireland took the drunken man to a station where he was booked in and tested again, blowing a staggering 180 on the machine.
Police suspect this recording to be one of the highest ever drunk driver readings in Northern Ireland and possibly the UK.
The current legal driving limit for alcohol in the UK is 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath – although Scotland have a lower limit of 22 micrograms.
Police Mid Ulster shared information about the incident onto their Facebook page on Sunday, shocked at the scenes that had unfolded.
They said: “A real sense of anger here tonight, we have just recorded one of the highest ever drunk driver readings in Northern Ireland and indeed the UK.
“The breathalyser couldn’t register a reading when he was tested in the car because it was so high (they have a limit of 220).
“when tested in custody after being taken to the station and booked in, he blew 180 on the evidential machine. The limit is 35.
“Crews caught this wannabee killer on the Tobermore Road weaving like a snake, he ended up in an innocent person’s garden.
“It’s a miracle that we don’t have officers calling at someone’s house tonight, to deliver a death message to a family of a loved one who has been mowed down and killed.
“Not that the drunk at the wheel of this car seemed to care in the slightest, he was so out of it he’d no concept of what was going on.
“Meanwhile his passenger could barely contain herself as she roared with laughter like it was all some big joke and wanted to know how she was going to get home.
“One hundred and eiiiighttyyyy” might sound great at the darts, not going to be so funny when it’s being read out to the judge.”
Facebook users were left disgusted at the post and could not believe how drunk the driver was.
Bobliz Payne posted: “Throw the book at them and never let either of them on the road again.”
Jacqueline Speedie commented: “Absolute disgrace idiots, just a miracle no one innocent was killed.”
Hilary Hazlett said: “Drunken thugs like that usually survive, but kill some other innocent person. Jail too good for them.”
In 2019, a motorist in Manchester was pulled by cops and was so drunk that the breathalyser could not compute it.
Manchester police then took the driver back to a station and could not reveal how high the reading was.
A spokesman for the PSNI today said: “A 49 year old man has been charged with being in charge of a motor vehicle when unfit through drink or drugs.
“He is due to appear at Magherafelt Magistrates Court on Wednesday 21st April. As is normal procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.”
