A teenage drink-driver has been banned from the roads after crashing into a McDonald’s restaurant.
Taylor Steel, 19, had been at the pub before getting behind the wheel and driving along the A24 near Horsham, West Sussex, on 24 November last year.
After crashing into a McDonald’s at Buck Barn services, Steel failed a breath test, which showed he had 101mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath – nearly three times the legal limit of 35mcg.
A Sussex Police spokesperson said Steel had taken the term ‘drive-thru’ restaurant ‘a bit too literally’.
They added: “In police interview, Steel admitted he had been drinking beer at a pub before the incident occurred, and added he didn’t know why he drove the car or where he intended to go.”
The teenager, from Ashington, was disqualified from driving for two years at Crawley Magistrates‘ Court.
He was also sentenced to a 12-month community order – which requires him to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.
Steel has also been ordered to pay £85 costs and a £95 victim surcharge.
Last year, a drink-driver in Oregon, US, was thought to have recorded the highest ever blood alcohol reading after hitting .77 percent - more than nine times the legal limit in the state.
The hit-and-run suspect was breathalysed by cops on 20 February after they noted that the driver appeared to be 'highly intoxicated', according to Fox 5.
At first, the 28-year-old man refused to pull over when cops attempted to make a traffic stop leading to a short chase.
However, it wasn't long before the suspect lost control of his car and ended up crashing into a concrete barrier.
Police say they then took a breath test, which read .77 percent and could be the highest ever recorded, before he was taken to hospital to be looked over by doctors.
In a statement at the time, Warm Spring Police Department said: "The driver's blood alcohol content was 0.77 percent which is more than nine times the legal limit.
"The driver was also suspended in the State of Oregon through the Department of Motor Vehicles at a misdemeanour level (DUII).
"The driver was taken to the hospital to be medically evaluated."
Anything over .40 can be fatal, with experts from Stanford University's Office of Alcohol Policy and Education saying a reading between .35 and .40 means a person would typically lose consciousness and could be on the brink of a coma.
A level of .10 means that a person's blood supply contains one part alcohol for every 1000 parts blood, meaning that in this man's case, there was 77 parts alcohol for every 1,000 parts blood.
Featured Image Credit: Sussex Police/PATopics: UK News
Jess Hardiman