Fury as model walks free after being caught drink-driving for second time
A MODEL who was caught drink-driving for a second time has escaped jail after a court heard she would not cope very well in prison.
Monica McDermott, 41, had downed an entire bottle of wine before climbing behind the wheel of her black Lexus to spend the night at a friend’s house.
Three years previously she had been banned from driving for two years after drinking so much sparkling wine that she crashed into another car.
This time the motorbike calendar model was sentenced to an 18-month community order, an alcohol rehabilitation programme, 120 hours unpaid work and a fouryear driving ban.
But the fact she walked free from court has infuriated road safety campaigners, who said the sen- tence sent out a message that it was acceptable to drink-drive.
Carole Whittingham, of the Campaign Against Drink Driving, said: ‘It’s a disgrace for her to escape prison after two such serious drinkdriving offences.
‘Magistrates have the power to jail for six months and it is important that repeat offenders face proper punishment as a deterrent to others.
‘Repeated bans and programmes are not going to make her learn her lesson. It is time the law got tougher on those that wreck lives and kill innocent people.’
Macclesfield magistrates heard McDermott’s second offence happened on March 31 after she began drinking because she was depressed. En route to a friend’s, she narrowly missed hitting other cars as she careered down the road, and then failed to stop when police pursued her car.
When officers finally managed to catch her, McDermott struggled to walk in a straight lime and refused to give a breath test.
She then tried to escape and had to be restrained with pepper spray. She was found to be three times the drink-drive limit. When she was caught in 2012, McDermott was almost four times the limit. She crashed into a car and could barely stand or say her name when stopped by police.
McDermott, of Alderley Edge, told the court: ‘My son was away on a trip and I was lonely. I had been drinking in the afternoon and got myself in a state. My friend said to go round and stay the night. I’d had a bottle of wine but thought I’d left enough time and would be okay. I couldn’t believe I got in this mess again. I could have harmed someone. I’m embarrassed and ashamed.’
Probation officer Mike Isherwood said: ‘Her experiences in life have been chaotic. I don’t think she’d cope well in prison. I’ve not seen anyone with such low mood.’