Former Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson has pleaded guilty to drink driving after crashing his sports car into a group of cyclists in Bowdon earlier this month.
The 27-year-old, who now plays for Everton, appeared at Trafford Magistrates’ Court this morning and admitted driving while over the limit for alcohol, driving without care and attention and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.
Gibson was banned from driving for 20 months and sentenced to a 12-month community order, with an unpaid work requirement of 200 hours.
The court heard how three cyclists mending a broken chain at the side of Park Road were struck by Gibson in his £125,000 Nissan Skyline as he turned a corner at speed and mounted the pavement.
The accident, which happened less than a mile from Gibson’s Bowdon home at 9.45am on Sunday August 16th, catapulted one cyclist through the air, leaving him with cuts to his legs, elbow and hand and writing off his £4,500 carbon composite bike.
Another cyclist was left with bruising.
Gibson then drove on to Dunham Road, colliding with a petrol pump at the Shell garage before getting out with no shoes on and attempting to refuel his car.
At that point, the petrol pump attendant called police and he was arrested and found to have an alcohol reading of 57, above the legal limit of 35.
The court heard that Gibson had spent the night before on a birthday night out with his Everton team-mates, drinking a mixture of lager and vodka on top of pain-killers he was taking following a hernia operation.
Speaking to magistrates, the father of two said he was “extremely apologetic” and that the incident was “completely out of character”.
Defending Gibson, Oliver Jarvis said his client was full of “shame, embarrassment and remorse”.
As well as being banned for 20 months, he was ordered to pay £4,500 for the damaged bicycle and £1,000 to the injured rider, plus £100 each, plus court costs, to the other two cyclists.
