Booze and coke-fuelled Chesterfield youth blames fictitious “Dave” for car crash

Daniel Benjafield, 21, was seen in the Ford Fiesta’s driver seat by police before climbing out the passenger side when they arrived at the scene on Matlock Road in August last year.

Prosecutor Stella Moses told Chesterfield Magistrates Court Benjafield claimed he had not been the driver but “someone called Dave had been driving and had gone”.

Ms Moses said: “At about 4.24am on August 10 police attended a road traffic accident and found a vehicle in a hedge.

“The defendant got out of the passenger side and indicated to police that he was not driving the car.

“He was claiming he didn’t drive the car and someone called Dave drove.”

Benjafield, who only had a provisional licence at the time and had crashed someone else’s car, was taken to hospital where a blood sample showed he was over the drink-drive limit.

The 21-year-old, who has no previous convictions and is of “previous good character”, was six times above the legal drive limit for cocaine.

The defendant, of Hartington Road, admitted driving above the alcohol limit, driving without insurance, driving without a licence, aggravated vehicle taking and driving while unfit through drugs.

A magistrate told Benjafield: “We’re adjourning your case while probation officers prepare a report to give us more information about you.”

He was bailed unconditionally and given an interim driving ban pending his sentence.

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