Police warn against drink driving

Police on Saturday urged members of the public to avoid drinking and driving following two road accidents on Friday caused by motorists that were seven and three times over the limit.

The first accident, police said, occurred at around 7.30pm on Kappari Avenue in Paralimni when a car driven by a 42-year-old man under conditions still being investigated veered off course and crashed into a fruit and vegetable shop that was closed at the time. There were no injuries, but the shop was damaged.

The final breathalyzer given to the 42-year-old, police said, indicated he had 160 microgrammes of alcohol in his system instead of the legal limit of 22μg.

The second accident occurred at 10.30pm when a car driven by a 38-year-old man on the Armou-Episkopi road in Paphos crashed into a car driven by a 23-year-old man who had a 19-year-old male passenger.

The 23-year-old was injured seriously and was transferred to the Nicosia general hospital where he was kept for further treatment. His condition is serious, police said, but not critical. The 19-year-old was slightly injured and was taken to the Paphos hospital.

The initial breathalyzer given to the 38-year-old, police said, showed levels of 74μg in his system. He was arrested after failing to give a satisfactory exhalation sample in two cases for final alcohol testing.

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