Cokey wrote:
So, Zak thought he was being carjacked only to find out it was the police in an unmarked car who only decided to turn their flashing lights on when it got to high speeds. I'm not condoning Zaks behaviour but, the police could've done better, and this was a mitigating factor in his sentencing.
I mean, whichever way you want to paint it, Zak is the only one truly at fault here.
Zak must have been driving dangerously or giving indications of him being over the limit for the police to follow him at all. Then he decided to speed off at speeds of at least 70mph (police claiming they had to drive at 88mph to keep up, so take from that what you will) through a residential area, putting innocent people at risk of losing their life, in an attempt to flee a scenario that he had created in his own head all this while over the legal limit.
His defence claimed that he had "miscalculated" his alcohol consumption over the course of the evening. If you was somebody who already had a previous offense of drink driving (and had already attended a rehab course previously that Wigan sent him on), would you even attempt to calculate how much drink you could have and still be able to drive? I would expect that person be like any other normal, rational thinking individual and not attempt to drive at all when they have even took a sip.
A quote also from the St Helens Star "His solicitor conceded Hardaker may be unable to continue his career at the Challenge Cup holders due to losing his licence, and his position as a role model has been destroyed."
Sounds like he may now use this as a way to wriggle out of his Leigh contract, and to be fair i imagine it is now going to be difficult for him to travel for training etc. from Ponte to Leigh.