Police found 2 bottles of wine inside the car of a 71-year-old local woman who rolled her car whilst drunk earlier this month, a court has heard.
Pensioner Lesley Ede, of Webster Way in Alverstone Garden Village, admitted a single count of drink driving when she appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court yesterday (Friday).
As previously reported by Island Echo, it was just before 18:30 on 3rd November that emergency services were called to Lower Road, Adgestone to reports of a female trapped inside her Mercedes-Benz A170, which had come to rest on its side.
Police, firefighters and paramedics all rushed to the scene, locating the woman and her vehicle on a narrow stretch of quiet road just a few hundred metres from the junction with The Mall.
The driver – who was mechanically trapped after rolling the German vehicle – was helped from the car and passed into the care of the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service.
The court heard how upon exiting the vehicle, Ede was seen to be unsteady on her feet and her breathe smelt strongly of alcohol. 2 bottles of wine were found in the footwell of Ede’s car.
A roadside breath test was conducted and a reading of 70 was returned – double the legal limit of 35.
Defending the 71-year-old, Adrian Dodd, told the court that his client had an argument with her husband on the night in question and drove to the shop to get some wine. Upon leaving the shop, she made the ‘stupid’ decision to drive. He added that she knew that she could’ve seriously injured herself and other motorists.
Magistrates handed Ede a 20-month driving ban and fined her £184. She was also ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £74 surcharge fee.
Numpties of all ages on the island don’t know
right from wrong.
All drink and drug drivers need banging up.
I would expect better from a 71 year old, obviously
not!
Should not assume that the person is a pensioner just on age. Some people over the usual pension age continue to work and defer their pensions.
Was this written by a child?
There’s a line in the court summary that deserves a moment’s appreciation: after arguing with her husband, she ‘drove to the shop to get wine’, and then, upon leaving, made the foolish decision to drive. A breath reading of 70 and two bottles in the footwell suggest the decision-making began well before the checkout. Unless the local convenience store now offers pre-drive tastings, something in that timeline has clearly been polished for presentation.
Emergency crews arrived to find her Mercedes A170 on its side — the sort of scene that doesn’t happen without a serious lapse in judgement. You don’t simply ‘lose balance’ in a car; you put yourself and everyone else on the road in needless danger. The crash speaks for itself far more honestly than the defence did.
The defence called it ‘stupid’. It was worse than that — it was reckless, avoidable, and entirely self-authored. A 20-month ban feels remarkably lenient for turning a routine wine run into a three-service emergency response.
Whole heartedly agree. No example for Children and Grandchildren.
Yes, I noted that too. I’d say the Defence is as stupid as she was, to have put that forward as mitigation. Even if she’d necked both bottles at the shop, it would have taken far longer than the drive back to Alverstone to record a breath reading of 70.
£184 fine for driving at twice the drink drive limit. She should have been looking at a much stiffer penalty including a requirement to retake her test since she lost control of the vehicle. Is it time lay magistrates were abolished?