Everton's Darron Gibson handed 20-month ban for drink driving
Tuesday 1 September 2015 12:46, UK
Everton midfielder Darron Gibson has been banned from driving for 20 months after pleading guilty to crashing his car into a cyclist while drink-driving and then fleeing the scene.
The 27-year-old was driving his black Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo when it struck three cyclists who had stopped at the side of the road to fix a broken chain.
The first cyclist hit by Gibson's car suffered cuts to his legs, elbow and hand and his £4,500 bike was written off.
Gibson was said to have driven off at speed before he pulled into a petrol station nearby in his home town of Bowdon, Cheshire, and collided with a petrol pump.
He was also sentenced to a 12-month community order, with an unpaid work requirement of 200 hours, and ordered to pay £5,700 compensation to the three cyclists.
Police were called by a petrol attendant after Gibson got out of his car with no shoes on and filled his vehicle with fuel on the morning of August 16.
The Republic of Ireland international entered guilty pleas at Trafford Magistrates' Court to driving with excess alcohol, driving without due care and attention and failing to stop after an accident had occurred.
Chair of the bench Susanne O'Connell had told the ex-Manchester United midfielder the failure to stop was "serious enough" to merit a community penalty.
