This shocking video shows a drunk driver fleeing in his wrecked car from the scene of a crash while members of the public desperately tried to pull him from the wheel.
Emilio Gates, 26, destroyed his Audi A5 when he drunkenly crashed into a garage, a court heard.
A crowd gathered but Gates got back into his vehicle, performed a three point turn and drove away while people tried to wrestle him out of the vehicle.
Gates managed to make it back to his mum’s house, but not before he hit another car and a skip, and was subsequently arrested and charged with dangerous driving.
Appearing at Exeter Crown Court, Gates pleaded guilty to the charge, relating to his driving in Teignmouth, Devon, and was handed a suspended sentence.
Gareth Evans, prosecuting, said the incident happened on July 14, while local resident David Jeffrey was hosting a barbecue.
He and his friends heard a loud bang at around 9.20pm and when they went to investigate they saw a black Audi had hit Mr Jeffrey’s garage.
The driver was stood next to the vehicle and was ‘clearly unsteady on his feet’.
Gates, of Teignmouth, got back behind the wheel to make his escape, all of which was caught on camera.
He can be seen reversing away from building with a flat tyre while Mr Jeffrey and another man try to stop him getting away by taking his keys.
Despite a brief struggle, Gates ultimately ignored them and manoeuvred his vehicle away.
Police arrested Gates a short time later and officers said his pupils were like pinpricks and he was clearly under the influence of something.
He was taken into custody but failed to blow a specimen, for which he was also charged.
Gates, a groundworker, said he was sorry for what he had done and said that on the day he had got drunk at a family celebration and had taken Valium to cope with his depression.
Judge David Evans said: “You drove that vehicle and in that state you collided with the property, and ignoring warnings, drove off in a way which risked seriously injuring people doing their best to minimise the risk you posed to others.”
Gates was sentenced to eight months, suspended for 15 months.
He was given 140 hours of unpaid work, disqualified from driving for 15 months and told to pay compensation and costs of £550.
