A truck driver was banned from the roads for 18 months and fined after he admitted being behind the wheel while more than three times the legal alcohol limit.

Magistrates’ Court heard on Wednesday that Humberto Pacheco, 58, was stopped by police after his truck swerved into their lane on Somerset Road in Sandys.

He apologised to the officers and said that something fell inside his truck and that he swerved as he tried to pick it up.

Pacheco told police when questioned that he “had one shot of scotch yesterday” and refused to take a roadside breath test.

Pacheco was taken to Hamilton Police Station and agreed to take a test.

He was found to have 252 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood – 3.1 times the legal limit of 80mg/100ml.

The incident happened on March 22.

Elizabeth Christopher, for the defence, said that her client had joined a drug programme after the incident to help him “turn his life around”.

She added: “It seems like this was his rock bottom and he has been involved in programming.”

Magistrate Tyrone Chin also fined Pacheco, from Sandys, $1,500.

• It is The Royal Gazette's policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.