Drink-Driver in Hospital Car Park Blames Wrong Pedal After Crash

A guy named Richard Clifton crashed his car in a hospital parking lot. He said he hit the wrong pedal. Police found he was drunk too, and his alcohol level was over twice the limit.

The crash occurred January 28th at Nuffield Hospital on Scraptoft Lane in Humberstone. Clifton’s Fiat 500 hit a parked car. Police came and tested Clifton, and he failed a roadside breath test; they arrested him then.

The prosecutor, Sukhy Basi, spoke in court at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on February 13th. A person called police about a drunk driver who hit another car in the lot. Clifton said he pressed the gas instead of the brake.

Clifton lived on Lyndon Road in Rutland. He admitted drinking wine with lunch, and his breath test read 87; the legal limit is 35.

Clifton defended himself in court, saying his foot slipped and the collision occurred only a few feet. He emphasized the parked car was empty. Alcohol is a problem for him, he said, noting he is four weeks into a 12-week Turning Point program.

He had not been drinking before that day. He drank wine because he felt nervous, as he was getting test results at the hospital. The radiology results stressed him out, and he called the incident “regrettable” and “inexcusable.”

Clifton admitted to drink-driving. He received a 20-month driving ban and must pay a £440 fine. Court costs were £85, and he also has a £176 victim surcharge.