Everton footballer banned from driving after hitting cyclist and fleeing the scene

Everton and Republic of Ireland midfielder, Darron Gibson, has been banned from driving for 20 months and sentenced to a 12-month community order after hitting a cyclist while driving drunk in Bowdon on August 16.

The BBC reports that Gibson entered guilty pleas at Trafford magistrates’ court to driving with excess alcohol, driving without due care and attention and failing to stop after an accident had occurred.

The black Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo driven by Gibson ploughed into three cyclists who had stopped on a pavement to fix a chain. One cyclist was hit, sustaining cuts and bruises, and his carbon fibre bike was destroyed.

Gibson then drove off at speed before pulling into a petrol station where he collided with a pump, emerging from the car with no shoes on to fill up with fuel. It was at this point that a member of staff contacted the police.

The court heard that Gibson had been on a birthday night out with Everton team-mates, where he had been drinking lager and vodka on top of painkillers that he was taking following a hernia operation.

He returned home in the early hours, but left again later that morning following an argument with his wife. When breathalysed, the level of alcohol in his breath was found to be 57mg per 100ml – the legal limit is 35.

Chair of the bench, Susanne O'Connell, said the failure-to-stop offence was sufficient to warrant a community penalty – a 12-month order with an unpaid work requirement of 200 hours.

Gibson was also banned from driving and ordered to pay compensation of £4,500 for the damaged bike and £1,000 to the injured cyclist, plus £100 each to the other two involved, as well as £295 court costs.