He drank four bottles of wine and set off. He had no driver's license.
A court in Great Britain handed down a suspended sentence to a blind man who, while intoxicated, got behind the wheel of his girlfriend's car and drove 240 kilometers, writes the BBC.
On June 29, police stopped the car of 50-year-old Anthony Hall on the highway near the city of Carlisle, because the car was swerving between lanes and periodically veering onto the shoulder.
Hall told police that he set off after he and his partner drank four bottles of wine.
During the trial, the man pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving a vehicle while intoxicated, driving without a license, as well as using the car without insurance and without the owner's consent.
Police told the court that on the night of June 29, they received information that a blind man was driving a car while intoxicated on the M6 motorway — one of Great Britain's main motorways.
The officer who stopped the car smelled alcohol and asked the driver if he had been drinking alcohol. He admitted that he had been drinking wine with his partner. He also said that he had lost his sight about two years ago, but could still see some lights.
Explaining how he managed to drive such a distance, Hall said that he simply navigated by the tail lights of a truck.
He explained his actions by a desire to go to Scotland as far away from home as possible, away from difficult personal relationships and financial problems.
Along the way, Hall also stopped at a petrol station, where an employee helped him refuel the car.
The defendant's lawyer told the court that he had no prior convictions and was trying to escape difficult life circumstances.
"This man was going through a crisis and was making bad decisions during this crisis," she said.
When handing down the suspended sentence, the judge took into account the fact that Hall was previously a law-abiding person and was going through a difficult period in his life.
The man was sentenced to 36 weeks in prison, but the execution of the sentence is suspended for one and a half years — in the British justice system, this is equivalent to a suspended sentence.
Hall is also required to undergo a rehabilitation program and abstain from alcohol for 90 days.
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