Mum whose baby was being held 'unrestrained' by 13-year-old brother, gets driving ban at Craigavon court
A 33-year-old mother, caught driving while her baby was held unrestrained by a 13-year-old boy in the front of the car, has been given a driving ban.
Tashka Paskaleva, from Sunningdale, Lurgan, appeared at Craigavon Magistrates Court charged with driving with children unrestrained in her car.
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Barrister Mr Conor Lunny said his client pleaded guilty via a Bulgarian interpreter.
The court heard that on September 20 this year, police spotted a Volkswagen Passat driving on Market Street, Lurgan.
“As the vehicle was driven, police observed a baby being held by the front passenger without the baby being in the proper seat restraints,” said the prosecutor.
Police stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver – the defendant – the mother of a 13-year-old boy who was the front seat passenger holding his eight-month old baby sister. The boy was also not in a child seat. In the back seat was another child – a six-year-old girl – who was without a seat belt and child restraint.
Police were told there were child seats in the boot. Officers told the mother to use those child seats before continuing her journey.
The defendant’s barrister, Mr Lunny, said it is accepted by his client that this was “an exceptionally poor piece of parenting”.
He explained that his client received a call from her elderly mother indicating that she was ill.
“She took the foolhardy decision in a panic to pile everybody into the car and make her way over to the other side of Lurgan to deal with her mother,” he said.
"There’s no excuse but that’s the explanation. She is extremely remorseful,” said Mr Lunny, adding that Paskaleva had been living in Northern Ireland for the last five or six years and has been working full-time though currently on maternity leave.
He added that she has done what was required and transferred her native country’s licence to a Northern Irish licence and has no live points and no previous convictions and nothing pending.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan said she had exposed her children to ‘danger’ and it had to be dealt with via a driving ban. For each of the two charges she was given a two months driving ban and ordered to pay £150 on each charge plus the £15 offender evy.