Drink-driver FOUR TIMES limit when she hit parked car
A WOMAN who drove into a parked car was four times over the drink-drive limit and had empty bottles of alcohol in her vehicle.
Rachel Wills, 27, was involved in a collision with a parked car on Oakway in East Didsbury on May 24 while driving a Fiat Punto, Manchester magistrates court heard.
Members of the public heard a loud bang and rushed out to see what had happened.
They say the car reversed and drove forward a number of times, but stayed at the scene.
They called the police and reported there were bottles of alcohol in the car. Wills, of Lingard Street, Reddish, Stockport, was found to have 132 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, nearly four times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.
She pleaded guilty to drink-driving, as well as two counts of failing to update her driving licence and was banned from the roads for 32 months and ordered to carry out unpaid work.
Wills, who is married, had been drinking to excess on a regular basis as a way of dealing with emotional problems, according to a probation report read out in court.
She had recently tied the knot and struggled following the recent loss of her mother-in-law, the court heard.
Magistrates were told she has been on anti-depressants and has not drunk alcohol since the incident.
But Wills, who works as a customer liaison officer, is now feeling more positive, the court heard.
District Judge Sam Goozee said the incident was serious and that he was sentencing her to a high level, 12-month community order.
Wills must complete 260 hours of unpaid work and enrol on a drink-drive rehabilitation course. She must also pay costs of £85 and a surcharge of £85.
The judge said: “I am satisfied that you are getting some support with your mental health problems, which contributed to you behaving in the way that you did.
“I am persuaded that a custodial sentence is not necessary.”