Gilford woman, who was involved in three-vehicle crash after her tyre blew, refused to give PSNI evidential reading for alcohol, Craigavon court hears
A 29-year-old woman, who was in a three-vehicle crash after her tyre blew, refused to provide an evidential specimen for alcohol, Craigavon court has heard.
Courtney Haire, aged 29, from High Street, Gilford, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court.
-
-
She faced two charges of driving with excess alcohol and failing to provide a specimen for an evidential reading.
Haire pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen of breath and on that basis, the first charge, of driving with excess alcohol, was withdrawn.
The court heard police came across a road traffic collision on the Gilford Road, Lurgan on May 20 this year at 11.40pm.
The defendant was on the footpath near the vehicle. She told police she had been driving and had a blow-out. Police identified two other vehicles with damage ‘consistent with a road traffic collision’.
A preliminary breath test was carried out on the defendant and the reading was 88 micrograms of alcohol. In Northern Ireland, the legal alcohol limit for drivers is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
Haire was arrested and taken to Lurgan Custody Suite where she failed to provide an evidential specimen. She was further arrested for failing to provide a specimen. She also gave a ‘no comment’ interview.
Haire’s solicitor said his client didn’t realise it was an offence to fail to provide an specimen though she provided a roadside sample.
"She was at a fundraiser that evening for a local charity,” said the solicitor, adding that her mother, her sister and the defendant herself have all written letters to the court.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan read Haire’s mother's letter describing it as “glowing”, saying: “It does speak of somebody who is a person of ‘unwavering loyalty and kindness’."
Reading from the text, he said: “She cares about other people. She cares a lot about animals as well.” The district judge added that it appears, ‘from a public order point of view that she fully accepts her guilt and it was wrong to do what she did’.
Haire’s solicitor said his client is “a girl with a lot of potential but is hampered by some mental health issues that she is seeking to address”, adding she “volunteers” at present.
"She recently got a job offer recently to work for a doggy daycare but she needs a licence and, because of this, she is not going to be able to take that job up,” said the lawyer, asking for leniency from the court.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan said he had read the letter from the defendant’s mother and heard the mitigating factors from her lawyer. He told the defendant “you have my sympathy to a degree for the situation you find yourself in but not for the offence”.
"Ordinarily I am meant to apply a higher starting point for a disqualification of this type of offence,” said the district judge. “Given what your mum has said about you today I am going to stay my hand with the minimum.”
He banned Haire from driving for 12 months and ordered her to pay a £100 fine plus a £15 offender levy.