Retired teacher’s spiral to boozed-up buggy crash
A RETIRED teacher has fronted court in a wheelchair and moon boot after crashing her golf buggy while more than five times the alcohol limit.
Kathleen Clarke was driving along The Parkway at Hope Island at about 11.40am on November 10 last year when she suddenly lost control and fell out of the vehicle, which kept running until colliding with a nearby nature strip.
Southport Magistrates Court was told she was rushed to hospital with serious leg injuries, including multiple compound fractures.
Clarke later recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.258. Her licence was immediately disqualified.
Defence lawyer Erin Mitchell, of Potts Lawyers, told the court the retired languages teacher also spent years caring for her elderly parents and was heartbroken following the loss of her father and “best friend”.
She said Clarke was diagnosed with depression and felt increasingly isolated, especially with her brother and sister-inlaw on holiday in the weeks leading up to the crash.
“She is mortified that at 60 years of age with no criminal history and a very limited and dated traffic history, she now finds herself before the courts for this offence,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Ms Clarke admitted she has always liked a drink, but when her father’s health began to really decline and he was put in a nursing home, she started to have a few drinks a night with – or instead of – dinner.
“Ordinarily she would rely on (family) to get to the shops if she was intoxicated, and on this particular occasion without them nearby, made the very foolish decision to get behind her buggy.”
Magistrate Michelle Dooley said Clarke needed to address her drinking “in a huge way” to avoid letting herself down after a lifetime of caring for families and the community.
Clarke pleaded guilty to one count of driving while under the influence of liquor.
She was fined $1200 and disqualified from driving for eight months. No conviction was recorded.