FAKE ID, DISQUALIFIED DRIVER, DRUNK AND BEHIND THE WHEEL

58 YEAR OLD FEMALE DISQUALIFIED DRIVER (UNTIL 2031!) ARRESTED FOR HIGH RANGE PCA AND OTHER OFFENCES

About 10:30am on Thursday the 20th of February 2020 police were contacted by a quick thinking member of the public who had dash cam who was travelling on Sherburn Close Charlestown.

The member of the public had serious concerns about the driver of a black Mazda 3 which he had been following. The other driver informed police that the black Mazda was swerving all over the road way and upon stopping at an intersection the driver was having extreme difficulty in getting the vehicle into gear and moving off. The other driver then observed the Mazda to turn left onto the Pacific Highway. A short time later the witness observed the vehicle to be stopped and parked in the Apollo Hotel car park.

Police attended quickly and saw a 58 year old female sitting in the drivers seat of the black Mazda. On inspecting the vehicle police observed fresh damage to the front drivers side wheel / rim and white paint on the front passenger fender from a previous collision. Upon speaking to the female a strong smell of intoxicating liquor could be smelt.

The female was asked to produce her current identification at which time she supplied police with a News South Wales driver licence however the photograph on the licence did NOT resemble the female driver. The female then gave police her Photo Identification Card in her real name.

The female was submitted to a breath test which gave a positive reading, she was arrested and taken to Belmont Police Station for the purpose of a Breath Analysis. The accused was then submitted to a Breath Analysis which gave a reading of 0.200 grammes of alcohol in 210 litres of Breath.

In regard to her drinking the female told police that she had consumed 1 x 700ml bottle of Vodka on the 19th of February between the hours of 7pm and 1am.

A check of the female’s drivers licence showed that she was the holder of a New South Wales Class C licence number which is currently endorsed DISQUALIFIED from the 17/10/2017 until the 19/08//2031.

Inquiries were made with the owner of the driver licence handed to police by the female. As a result of these inquiries it was confirmed that the driver licence had gone missing approximately 6 month ago. The owner of the driver licence stated that she had at no time given the female her drivers licence or any permission to use it.

When questioned by police about her possession of the licence, it is alleged the female stated that she had taken the licence by opening the other person’s mail. She further stated that at no time had she tried to return the licence to it’s rightful owner.

At the time of the offence the accused appeared well effected by alcohol. She stated to police that she had driven from Morisset to Charlestown to take her mother to a Doctors appointment.

The female was then charged with a number of matters including High Range PCA (second and subsequent offence), Disqualified Driver (second and subsequent offence) and possession of goods suspected of being stolen.

She was bail refused and will appear at the Belmont Local Court on 21 February.

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