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Jack Grealish: Moment Aston Villa captain crashes Range Rover in lockdown before stumbling out in odd slippers
THIS is the moment “slurring” Jack Grealish swerves across the road and smashes his £80k Range Rover three times - before stumbling out in odd slippers.
The England ace was today fined £82,000 and banned from driving for nine months for reversing his luxury 4x4 into a Mercedes and Citroen just six days into the March lockdown.
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The 25-year-old allegedly stank of booze when he reversed into two parked cars outside a friend's house in Dickins Heath, near Solihull, West Mids about 8.40am on March 29.
Footage released today by West Midlands Police shows the footballer running down the road before hopping into his Range Rover - immediately reversing into a Citroen Dispatch.
He is then seen swerving down the road before reversing - side-swiping a Mercedes AMG.
The football ace then drives his car just a few yards down the road before crashing into the kerb.
Moments later, he is seen with his head in his hands as he walks down the road as he leaves the carnage in his mismatching slippers.
A witness later claimed he confronted the footballer who was slurring his speech and stank of alcohol.
Barrister John Dye said the footballer was struck by “blind panic” after hitting the van and “tries to put everything right and makes it worse”.
And the footballer was today blasted by the judge for the crash during the March lockdown as he was sentenced for the smash and a second incident of careless driving that saw him clocked doing 98mph on the way to club training in October.
The court heard Grealish "intimidated" other drivers as he sped to training practise - with his lawyer saying he had been late and ";didn’t want to be thought of badly by his club and his peers".
Grealish, who the court was told earns £55,000 per week after tax, was fined £82,499 and made to pay £500 in costs. Grealish will have to pay the fine within seven days.
You should have been at home. You do not assert you had any proper reason not to be
District judge John Bristow
His barrister John Dye said the star was “deeply ashamed", adding: “Mr Grealish acknowledges that his driving on two occasions was very poor and he's deeply ashamed about that.
“This is somebody who is genuinely sorry, not just because reputationally this is problematic for him. He’s genuinely sorry. He has reflected on the way he has driven.”
Mr Dye said Grealish, who had wanted to move his car to avoid it being clamped, was wearing “totally inappropriate” footwear.
He said: “That’s his fault and it's stupid to go in a vehicle when you've got that footwear on but that’s the essence of why he drove in that manner.”
But sentencing the football ace, District judge John Bristow said breaching lockdown was an “aggravating” factor in the footballer's offending.
He told Grealish: “You should have been at home. You do not assert you had any proper reason not to be."
He added: "The two offences were committed within seven months of each other, you have caused damage by your driving and you have driven in an intimidating way at excessive speeds on a motorway."
Grealish previously pleaded guilty through a lawyer to two charges of driving without due care and attention.
The Premier League ace, of Barnt Green, Worcestershire, was involved in the March smash just 24 hours after issuing a Twitter video urging fans to stay at home to protect the NHS.
Grealish apologised hours after the crash, saying in a video message that he was "deeply embarrassed" and had "stupidly agreed" to go to a friend's house.
Judge Bristow said Grealish was stopped by a security guard after the crash who recognised him as “a professional footballer”, and asked for his details as he had “caused damage”.
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The court heard that the footie ace “initially refused” to provide the details – before handing them over “a few moments later”.
The Judge later said a witness had found Grealish “intoxicated”, adding: “He said he could smell alcohol on your breath, your speech was slurred and you were unsteady on your feet.”
But he added: "I do not have any evidence you were over the proscribed alcohol limit on March 29."
The fine is believed to be one of the largest ever fines handed out for careless driving.
TV presenter Ant McPartlin was fined £86,000 and given a 20-month driving ban after pleading guilty to drink-driving, which is a separate offence.
Grealish, who wore a cream overcoat and a face mask for his court appearance, declined to comment after the sentencing.
In a this afternoon, West Midlands Police said based on "the hard evidence available", they were able to charge Grealish with "driving without due care and attention".
The Force added: "It’s shocking a role model to so many has repeatedly behaved in an illegal and reckless manner."
Charges of failing to stop and failing to report the accident were dropped.
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Police had been called to the scene in March and went to the home where Grealish was believed to have been earlier but he wasn't there.
After checking the insurance for the Range Rover, cops then went to Grealish's property but he wasn't home.
But while waiting for the careless driving matter to be heard, Grealish was filmed by cops reaching speeds of up to 98mph on October 18.
Judge Bristow said the footballer “intimidated” other drivers on the M42, and “cut up” and “tailgated” drivers on the A446.
Grealish was pulled over at the entrance of Villa's Bodymoor Heath training ground after being watched for 10 minutes.
Mr Dye said that the star had been late for training and “didn’t want to be thought of badly by his club and his peers.”
The court heard Grealish already had six penalty points on his licence for speeding on a motorway in 2018.
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He was handed six points for each of the offences and banned for passing the 12-point limit.
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Judge Bristow told him: “On both March 29 and October 18, the standard of your driving fell below what could be expected of a careful and competent driver.”
Grealish's barrister said that star intends to make a donation to road safety charity Brake.
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Piers Morgan calls Jack Grealish 'an absolute covidiot' after he breaks lockdown rules again
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