Drunk HGV Driver Jailed After Getting Stuck In Ditch

A lorry driver who ignored a road closed sign in Cambridgeshire and ended up stuck in a ditch has been jailed after checks revealed he was more than three times the drink drive limit.

Romanian national Lucian Postelnicu, 47, was caught out after officers were called to a damage only collision at just before 4pm last Monday (7 December).

Police attended the scene on Wennington Road, Abbots Ripton, where they discovered an HGV pulling a refrigerated trailer which was stuck in a ditch.

Postelnicu, the driver, had also ignored a road closed sign and as a result of becoming stuck had blocked a diversion route.

Officers approached the lorry and discovered the driver was sat inside with the lights on and the engine running.

When asked to come out, Postelnicu initially climbed out the wrong side and into the ditch before going back in the lorry and exiting from the side where officers were.

Police noted he was unsteady on his feet and smelt of alcohol. Officers also discovered a one litre bottle of vodka in the lorry which was nearly empty.

When asked to do a roadside breath test, Postelnicu initially declined to provide a specimen for analysis.

However, once arrested and taken into custody he provided a sample of 130 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath – more than three times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.

In police interview Postelnicu admitted drinking 300g of vodka throughout the course of the day – including some just 30 minutes before becoming stuck in the ditch.

He claimed to have “terrible tummy pain” and had therefore had “shots” of the vodka to alleviate this, adding that he believed it was just a short while until he would be parking the HGV.

Postelnicu claimed he had ended up stuck in the ditch as he had swerved to avoid another lorry, but that it all happened so quickly that he had no details or description of the other vehicle.

He was charged with drink driving and sentenced at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty.

Magistrates jailed him for 14 weeks and disqualified him from driving for three years.

Postelnicu’s sentence comes as the force supports a national campaign cracking down on drink and drug drivers this December.

It also follows the sentencing of another drunk lorry driver caught by an eagle-eyed officer on the same day (7 December).

Claire Danks, whose daughter Lauren was killed by a speeding drink driver in 2016, is supporting the crackdown and warning that driving under the influence could destroy lives forever.

So far this month (1-13 December), officers have made 32 drink or drug drive related arrests in Cambridgeshire.

This includes 23 people arrested for drink driving, four arrested for failing to provide a specimen for analysis, one arrest for being in charge of a vehicle while over the drink drive limit and four people arrested for driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs.