A legally blind mad has been convicted of cycling while under the influence of alcohol, a charge which rarely comes before the courts in Ireland. Letterkenny District Court was told the convicted man was arrested for his own safety on the day of the incident last month.
However, when gardaí tried to take a sample from him to test the levels of alcohol in his system, he was not capable of giving a sample for analysis.
The court was told the man, Gintaras Jankauskas, had an issue with alcohol and was very apologetic for his actions while cycling in the Drumnahoagh of Letterkenny on the afternoon of October 4th last.
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The 53-year-old, who has some vision but is legally blind, was spotted by people weaving in and out of lanes before he collided with a driver in a passing car, damaging that vehicle according to The Irish Examiner.
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He was before the court charged with driving a pedal cycle while under the influence of an intoxicant to the extent he was not capable of having proper control.
Jankauskas, Churchlands, Manorcunningham, Co Donegal, is from Latvia but has been living in Ireland for 17 years. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined €50 after the court heard he had just one previous conviction, under the Public Order Act.
Patsy Gallagher, the solicitor for the accused man, said his client had ben very apologetic to gardaí for his actions, and that gardaí had treated him very humanely. He added Jankauskas was legally blind and could not work due to his disability.
