‘Sleepwalk’ drink driver crashed into traffic island
MAGISTRATES DISQUALIFY MOTORIST FOR 22 MONTHS
A DRINK driver who was banned from the road after ploughing her car into a traffic island claimed she was asleep through the entire episode.
Karissa Jayne McGarley, 26, of Wiltshire Close, Witherwack,in Sunderland, admitted to the charge of driving while under the influence but says she was sleepwalking.
Her defence solicitor, Sarah Fife, claimed on her behalf that a cocktail of stress and medication had triggered her childhood habit of going walkabout in the middle of the night.
McGarley, who was appearing at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court, swears she has no recollection of the boozy and snoozy journey.
The court heard how she smashed her car into a traffic island on Keir Hardie Way, Sunderland, on December 8 last year.
Prosecuting solicitor, Lee Poppet, told the court she had drunk about three quarters of a bottle of vodka at a friend’s house, returned home and went to bed.
A few hours later she found herself at the wheel of her car, where she had remained at the scene after attempting to reverse it off the island.
When the police arrived, they tested her and found she was above the limit with 92mg of alcohol in her breath – well over the 35mg legal limit.
Her defence solicitor detailed her sleepwalking claim, although admitted they did not have sufficient evidence for it to mount a proper defence.
She said: “My client has had problems with sleepwalking which go back to her childhood.
“We’ve tried to look back and piece things together and it seems to happen when she’s stressed.
“She still to this day has no recollection of getting into the car and driving.
“I’ve spoken with an expert who suggested she might well be suffering from parosomnia – which is a catch-all phrase for the things people get up to when they’re asleep – and possibly automatism.”
The court heard how McGarley was going through the breakdown of a relationship at the time and was taking medication.
Addressing the magistrates, Ms Fife said: “I’m inviting you to take into account the very stressful unusual circumstances of this case.”
Delivering a more lenient sentence than they were entitled to hand out, chair of the bench, Roseanna Forster, said: “We’ve stepped out of the guidelines a tad.
“You were just over the cusp and so we’re moving it back to a lower sentencing guideline.”
McGarley was disqualified from driving for 22 months and ordered to pay a fine of £140, costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £30.