A drink-driver who crashed his car while almost six times the legal limit has avoided jail.
Zdenko Bornak, 45, previously admitted a charge of drink-driving following a collision involving two vehicles in the afternoon of November 20 on Balnagask Road.
A 37-year-old woman was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary as a precaution following the incident, but Bornak did not face any charges in relation to the crash itself.
He admitted driving with 131 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22 microgrammes.
Sentence had been deferred for reports and Bornak was warned by Sheriff Gerard MacMillan he could face a jail sentence and told he “could have killed many people”.
But Bornak has now appeared back in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court for sentencing and escaped a spell in jail, instead being handed unpaid work and a curfew.
Fiscal depute Susan Love told the court: “Just coming up to 5pm there was an accident that occurred between the accused’s vehicle and a vehicle being driven by a female.
“After the accident the accused exited his own vehicle and began having a conversation with the witness who was in the vehicle he had collided with.
“The aftermath of the collision was witnessed by a passerby. This passerby ushered the accused away from the female and formed the opinion the accused was drunk.”
Police attended and were informed of the witness’s suspicions. On speaking to Bornak officers noted he smelled of alcohol, was slurring his words and was unsteady on his feet.
Defence agent Michael Horsman said: “The circumstances are set out in the report.
“He’s obviously in a serious position and is aware of that, in particular because he has two previous convictions.
“Mr Bornak accepts that he should not have been driving his car.
“He had consumed alcohol at home. It was his day off and he had been with a friend.
“He had for some months prior to this suffered from minor mobility problems with pains in his leg for which he had seen his doctor, but he appreciates notwithstanding that he shouldn’t have taken his car.”
Sheriff Raymond McMenamin told Bornak, of Morven Court, Aberdeen: “You took a conscious decision to drive and you knew well at the time that you were not fit to do so.
“You have two previous convictions for similar types of offending and therefore the only conclusion I can reach is that your offence merits a custodial sentence.
“However in the circumstances, I’m prepared to give you the alternative by means of a community payback order.”
He ordered Bornack to complete 110 hours of unpaid work and imposed a six-month curfew. He also banned him from driving for five years and granted a Crown motion for forfeiture of his vehicle, valued at £400.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.
