A man who was filmed drinking alcohol at the wheel moments before a crash has been handed a driving ban.
28-year-old Dane Wood was caught on camera sipping from a gin glass as he drove to collect a takeaway with his girlfriend.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how shortly after the video was taken, Wood sped through a red light and collided with a lamppost on the A183 in Sunderland.
People arriving on the scene thought Wood's girlfriend, a passenger in the car, was dead as she was slumped over the wheel. However, she had only suffered a broken ankle.
Graeme O'Sullivan, prosecuting, told the court how Wood had pretended he had not been driving the car at the time of the crash.
The court heard that Wood, of Rosedale Crescent, Houghton-le-Spring, was over the drink-drive limit, however he was not charged with excess alcohol in time.
In court, he pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
He was sentenced to 15 months suspended for 18 months with 120 hours unpaid work, as well as a £600 fine and a two-year driving ban.
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