A woman, who claims not to drink and is “almost teetotal,” was airborne after mounting a roundabout in Portadown.
Barbara Kowalczyk, 38, from Railway View in Coalisalnd, was travelling on the M12 into Portadown shortly after 3pm March 4 when she collided with the roundabout.
Police were alerted to reports of a Mercedes driving erratically, serving across lanes. The car then mounted the M12 roundabout resulting in it going airborne, before crashing into a barrier.
Paramedics, who were first on the scene, told police that the defendant appeared to be under the influence of drink or drunks and was unsteady on her feet.
Kowalczyk was taken to Craigavon Area Hospital where a blood sample of 167 was obtained. Cannabis was also detected.
She denied consuming alcohol, or cannabis, during a subsequent police interview.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan queried why Probation had deemed her a medium risk of re-offending when there was no previous record.
Defence counsel, Conor Lunny aired his own surprise at that finding, but surmised that this was due to the absence of any explanation as to how she got in this state, something “she is still unable to explain”.
“This has been the case since I first met her way back before the first remand,” said Mr Lunny.
“She’s not a drinker. She’s almost teetotal. But the science is not contested. It wasn’t ever going to be contested. She was clearly unfit.”
He added: “It is a serious incident. She may not have been over the alcohol limit, but there’s also trace cannabis around her system as well, which she is still at a complete loss to explain.
“And I’ve told her the court might have some difficulty, and certainly I’ll have more difficultly in the court, in terms of trying to explain that away; I can’t explain that away.”
However, Mr Lunny said there was a “wealth of mitigation”.
“She presents as a highly educated lady. She’s come from Poland and she’s made a life for herself here in various careers.
“I accept this is a bad case of dangerous driving, it could have resulted in injuries far worse, to her, to her passenger and indeed, other roads users. The fact the car was in the air at all speaks to that.
“She’s going to lose that job. It’s a factory job. Can I say, without wishing to embarrass her, she’s probably over-qualified for that factory job as a result of her qualifications in Poland, and indeed, her grasp of English, and indeed, her grasp of legal concepts as well.
“She’s very insightful and respectable but she can’t explain why she got in that state, which is something she’s going to have to deal with.”
Judge Ranaghan, in passing sentence, said: “The problem here is it was a very dangerous situation for other road users and indeed yourself.
“You did plead guilty at pretty much the first opportunity here. There’s nothing around health or addiction issues. It’s a confusing probation report.”
Kowalczyk was handed a 14-month driving ban for dangerous driving, 12 months for driving while unfit and ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service, ideally with the Braille service, which can be completed from home.
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