Birmingham City striker Marvin Ducksch has been fined more than £16,000 after causing a serious three-car collision while over the drink-drive limit. The Germany international was warned he was fortunate not to have killed himself and two female drivers in the late-night smash, as he was ordered to pay each victim £1,000 in compensation.
Court Hearing Details
Leamington Spa Magistrates' Court heard that Ducksch remained at the scene and checked on the welfare of the other drivers, one of whom suffered a nosebleed along with injuries to her forehead and thumb. The 32-year-old entered a guilty plea on Wednesday to driving his Mercedes with excess alcohol, recording 53mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, surpassing the legal limit of 35mcg.
Magistrates were told that the charge related to a collision on the A3400 near Henley-in-Arden in Warwickshire at approximately 10.30pm on Easter Monday. The incident occurred just hours after Ducksch had come on as a substitute during Birmingham's 2-1 defeat against Ipswich Town at Portman Road.
Prosecution Statement
Prosecutor Lina Akther told the court: "The defendant identified himself to the officers and confirmed he was involved in the collision. The defendant stated to the officers that he was driving and he went to change his music and crashed and he wasn't sure how." Following the collision, Ducksch — who also claimed to have been swerving to avoid a tree branch in the road — was arrested and subjected to a breath test. In a prepared statement to police, the court heard, Ducksch said he was driving home and admitted "he did have alcohol before he drove" and had "clipped an oncoming car and another one following behind". Ms Akther said: "He thought he would be under the limit and the defendant was apologetic in his prepared statement."
Penalties Imposed
Magistrates imposed a 14-month driving ban on Ducksch along with a fine of £16,155, total compensation of £2,000, a £2,000 surcharge and costs of £85. The court permitted Ducksch to settle the overall sum of £20,240 through monthly instalments of £2,000. When delivering the penalties, bench chairman John Kiely addressed the footballer, who resides in Solihull: "Thank you very much for your patience while we have been talking about this offence. We heard that there was an incident in which two vehicles were clipped. We have looked at the photographs (of the damaged cars). You can consider yourself lucky first of all that you weren't killed and secondly that the other drivers weren't killed. That's how serious this matter is."
Defence Mitigation
During mitigation, defence solicitor Julia Morgan said Ducksch, whose former clubs include Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund, had a promising career ahead of him. Ms Morgan told the three magistrates during the 20-minute hearing: "It's abundantly clear that damage was caused to those vehicles and the lady concerned was injured during the course of this." Ducksch held comprehensive insurance and the damage would be met by the policy, she stated. Ms Morgan added: "Mr Ducksch waited at the scene for the police. They didn't arrive immediately but he waited and he checked on the welfare of the occupants of the other vehicles. He is currently a young man who plays as a professional footballer for Birmingham City Football Club. Not only is he going to be subject to the sentence that you impose today – from a financial point of view he has also been penalised by Birmingham City for his actions that night. He has been penalised financially and further by not being permitted to play in a number of matches following this incident. That illustrates how seriously incidents of this nature are taken." The lawyer continued: "They (the club) have provided references. I hope you have had the opportunity to see them and read them. In essence they talk about a man of impeccable character in his conduct towards his team, his managers and the club itself. I myself have found him to be a most polite young man. It's very unfortunate he has found himself in this position, now having a conviction from the courts."
