Judge urges alcoholic to get aid ‘before you kill someone’

A woman caught drink-driving for the fourth time has been warned by a judge to address her alcoholism before she killed someone.

New Plymouth woman Patricia Myrtle Blundell previously pleaded guilty to a charge of driving with an excess blood alcohol level, but on the night of her arrest she denied drinking.

The summary of facts said as the 62-year-old was driving home on New Plymouth’s Hine St about 9.10pm on January 5, she hit the back of a parked car.

Both vehicles were left with significant damage.

Officers suspected Blundell may have been intoxicated, despite her denials about drinking.

She elected to have a blood test. It revealed she had a reading of 201 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, more than four times the legal limit of 50mgs.

At yesterday’s sentencing hearing in the New Plymouth District Court, Judge Chris Sygrove said Blundell’s alcohol reading had been ‘‘extremely high’’.

‘‘It is probably because you are an alcoholic that you can drink to that extent and still function,’’ he said.

‘‘You have a serious alcohol problem that you need to address before you kill someone.’’

The court heard how Blundell had been accepted on to the Salvation Army-run Bridge programme, which offers residential treatment, and was due to be admitted in July.

Blundell was sentenced to community detention, with a daily curfew from 7pm to 7am, which will run until July 1 ahead of her admission into treatment.

She was given a 18 month term of intensive supervision and ordered to pay $1000 in reparation to the owner of the damaged car, along with medical fees associated with the blood test totalling $219.25. An indefinite disqualification was also imposed.