Judge says Ballymena motorist 'could have taken seizure and killed somebody'
A judge said it was "very worrying" a woman was driving whilst not being deemed medically fit because if she had a seizure she could have crashed and killed somebody.
District Judge Nigel Broderick was speaking at Ballymena Magistrates Court about Diana Grzeszczak (38), of Grange Road in Ballymena, who admitted driving a Nissan Qashqai without a driving licence on November 4 last year.
A prosecutor said the detection was made at Parkway in Ballymena when police checks showed the licence was "stopped" earlier that year "for medical reasons".
The defendant told police she was on her way to register with a new doctor to try to get a licence.
A defence solicitor said that the defendant's health has improved and she is due to be examined in May and hopes she can prove she is fit to drive.
Judge Broderick told the solicitor: "It is always very worrying when somebody is told by a doctor 'don't get behind the wheel of a car' and then somebody drives.
"Did you say she has a history of seizures? So what happens if she has a seizure, she loses control of the vehicle and mounts the kerb and hits somebody or hits another car?"
The court was told the defendant had also been behind the wheel whilst medically unfit in August last year, for which she had recently been sentenced for.
The judge said: "She did it on August 24 and then does this in November."
He told the defendant: "What you did was potentially very dangerous. you might think you are fit to drive but you can't control your seizures and if you have a seizure you could cause an accident and if you hit somebody and kill them then you are in front of a judge and jury facing a very lengthy prison sentence.
"So do not drive again until you are medically qualified or passed fit by your doctor."
The defendant was banned from driving for six months and was fined £100.