Drunk who stole a car and crashed it avoids a jail term

A WOMAN who drunkenly stole a takeaway delivery driver’s car before crashing it into another vehicle has narrowly avoided a prison sentence.

Georgina Goddard was over the legal limit when she spotted the VW Polo outside a house in the Loughborough area on Saturday, November 16 last year.

The 26-year-old, who has had problems with alcohol and cocaine for a number of years, jumped into the car and drove off at such speed a skid mark was left on the road.

A short time later in the nearby village of Sileby, she caused a collision with another car, driven by a woman who had her 11-year-old daughter in the front passenger seat and their dog in the rear, Leicester Magistrates’ Court was told.

The mother suffered significant neck, back and chest injuries while her daughter was mostly unscathed. Meanwhile, Goddard, whose car was embedded in a garden wall, got out, lit a cigarette and began to walk away.

She was only stopped by people who had come out of their homes to investigate the loud bang.

One of them had acted quickly and taken the keys from the ignition while Goddard was still sitting at the wheel of the stolen Polo and was revving the engine, apparently hoping to drive away. The police were called and Goddard was arrested.

She was tested for alcohol and her reading was 49mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Goddard, of Erdyngton Road, Braunstone, Leicester, admitted the following motoring offences at the hearing: Drink driving, driving without insurance, aggravated vehicle taking, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, failing to report an accident.

Prosecutor Stacey Mills said the first victim was delivering food to a home when Goddard spotted her opportunity and stole his car.

The driver of the second vehicle, a Toyota Yaris, wrote a victim impact statement, which was read out in court. She said: “I heard a sound of tyres screeching and, due to it being dark, saw the reflection of lights coming towards us.

“The car felt like it was moving sideways and backwards by the impact. The other car mounted the pavement and struck a wall.

“When I eventually got out of my car, I saw the driver was a female and was the only person in the car.

“I remember a person told her to stay where she was and took the keys out of the ignition. My daughter was luckily not injured,” she said.

The woman, who is still receiving treatment for her injuries, added her car was a write-off and she still had about £12,000 to pay on it. The delivery driver’s car was also destroyed but no value was given in court.

A probation officer told the court: “She tells me she only drinks socially now and no longer takes cocaine. She says if she had not been drinking there is no way she would have behaved in this way.

“She woke up in a police cell and the police had to tell her what happened. She says she is so remorseful she finds it hard to express.”

Her solicitor David Charman said: “She doesn’t really know why she took the car. She was very remorseful and was very upset when she heard the lady in the other car had been injured.

District judge Nick Watson told her: “There are a number of features that make this offence so serious a prison sentence can be imposed. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries, although, of course, any injury is significant to the person who sustains it.

“The fact you were over the drink-drive limit makes it more serious, as does the fact you left the scene.”

Goddard was jailed for 14 weeks, but the sentence was suspended for two years.