Boozy Leeds driver followed by police as he swerved into motorway barrier
A driver who reeked of alcohol collided with the central reservation and narrowly avoided colliding with vehicles as police covertly followed.
Eugenijus Nalivaika had a blank expression and glazed eyes when police finally arrested him, and a bottle of vodka was found in the footwell of his car.
But the 48-year-old refused to be breath tested following his arrest, Leeds Crown Court heard.
Nalivaika, of Charlton Road, East End Park, admitted dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance and refusing to provide a specimen for analysis.
Despite already being on a suspended sentence, and previously banned from driving, he was spared custody again and given another suspended term.
The court heard that police had been called by members of the public about a grey VW Passat driving in a dangerous manner on the M56 in Lancashire on June 13 last year.
Officers in an unmarked van spotted the Passat, driven by Nalivaika, at around 6.15pm heading eastbound, so followed him.
He was driving erratically, prosecutor Safaraz Ahad said, speeding up and slowing down between lanes, switching lanes without indicating and tailgating other vehicles.
He forced a car on the inside lane into the hard shoulder to avoid a collision, and at one point he veered into the central reservation almost colliding with a barrier and leaving a cloud of dust behind him.
Exiting onto J9 towards the M6, and then exiting towards the A50, he again veered into the barriers, this time making contact and bouncing back into the middle of the road.
Once arrested and taken to the station, Nalivaika agreed to give a breath test but sucked the tester pipe insteading of blowing into it.
The court heard he had failed to provide a specimen in 2023 which led to a 12-month driving ban.
He was also convicted in May 2024 of failing to keep proper account records of his construction company, Niki Contractors Ltd, in which millions of pounds were unaccounted for.
Nalivaika was given a 15-month suspended jail sentence and ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard this week that he had just 19 outstanding hours left to complete from that order.
Mitigating, Tonicha Allen said Nalivaika came to the UK from Lithuania 11 years ago and continued to work in the building trade.
She said he supports his mother and sister in Lithuania, and that he was only lightly convicted.
Judge Tahir Khan KC conceded Nalivaika was a hard-worker who supported his family.
He handed him another 18-month sentence, suspended for two years, with a new three-year driving ban.
He must take an extended driving test to get his licence back once the ban expires.
He also has to complete 15 rehabilitation days with probation, and another 250 hours of unpaid work.