Drunk driver jailed after HGV port crash

An HGV driver who blew four times the legal limit for alcohol after he disembarked a ferry in Harwich and crashed his vehicle has been jailed.

Essex police said officers in its road policing unit were alerted to the minor collision inside Harwich International Port last month.

They were alerted following suspicions that the truck driver was drink driving.

Jacek Przybyl, 43, was then arrested at 7.45am after he blew an alcohol test and it measured four times the legal limit.

He was remanded into custody and appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to drink driving.

He was jailed for 12 weeks and disqualified from driving for three years.

Adam Pipe, head of roads policing, said: “Jacek Przybyl didn’t think of his or other road users’ safety when he got behind the wheel intending to drive hundreds of miles on a major route out of Essex.

“Alcohol stays in your system longer than you think and it affects your decision making and slows your reaction time. I hope that this acts as a warning to anyone who thinks that drink, or drug driving, is an option – it’s not.

“I’d like to thank colleagues at the port for bringing this to our attention so we could ensure that Jacek Przybyl didn’t present a danger on our roads or to any other driver.”