Peter Gray, who drove a bus filled with children while intoxicated, avoided a jail sentence on Wednesday.
A school bus driver who was found to be driving a bus filled with schoolchildren while four times over the alcohol limit has avoided being sent to prison.
Peter Gray, 43, of Drumadoon Drive in Dundonald, admitted two offences of driving with excess alcohol.District Judge Mark Hamill said Gray's actions were “appalling” and they could have resulted in “catastrophic” consequences.The court heard at about 16:30 on 19 March 2024 the Education Board asked police to attend the Ulster Hospital after reports a bus driver had been driving while intoxicated.
In a different incident on 11 May 2024, police attended Asda car park in Dundonald after reports of a road traffic collision where they found Gray intoxicated at the wheel of a car. He failed an initial preliminary breath test and an evidential sample gave a reading of 189, more than five times the legal limit of 35.Judge Hamill revealed that according to the pre-sentence report Gray “had thoughts of killing himself and the children”.
Defence counsel Conan Rea told the judge that Gray had entered a guilty plea at the earlier opportunity, had no previous convictions and was undergoing a mental health crisis at the time.Judge Hamill said it was clear that Gray was not mentally well, and that he did not want to “impose custody on someone who is ill”.“I’m trying to do something constructive here but this could have been a Crown Court case with a tragic outcome," the judge added.
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