Woman fled car crash after beer, sambuca and whiskey binge in Sutton

A mental health support worker downed beer, sambuca and whiskey before she crashed a borrowed car in Sutton and tried to flee, a court has heard.
Mansfield Magistrates CourtMansfield Magistrates Court
Mansfield Magistrates Court

Shannon Bourne, 21, of Field Drive, Shirebrook, admitted driving with excess alcohol, without insurance and failing to stop after an accident, when she appeared before magistrates in Mansfield on Wednesday.

The court heard Bourne was driving her friend’s partner’s Vauxhall Corsa along Spring Road, in Sutton, at around 11pm on October 14, when a police officer spotted she had no lights on.

“He flashed a torch to warn her, but it continued straight down the road without changing,” said Neil Hollett, prosecuting.

The officer watched as the Corsa hit another car and then ran to the scene, where he overheard Bourne’s friend advising her not to leave.

She began running away, said Mr Hollett, but the officer gave chase and detained her.

A breath test revealed she had 83 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, when the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

The court heard she had drunk three pints of beer, as well as sambuca and JD and coke, and decided to drive the car home after her friend’s partner was chased out of a pub in Sutton.

Justin Atkinson, mitigating, told the court Bourne worked in Matlock, but was likely to lose her job because of the inevitable ban.

“She is thoroughly ashamed and embarrassed,” he said, adding she had recently begun taking medication for depression.

He said Bourne thought she was insured by her own fully comprehensive policy. He said she was repaying the £2,200 costs of repairing the Corsa in monthly installments.

She was fined £346 and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £34. She was banned from driving for 20 months.

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