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Woman found over three times the drink drive limit after colliding with parked car

Police found her in a property nearby where she was slumped over the kitchen table and smelled strongly of intoxicating liquor

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A woman who collided with a parked car was found to be over three times the legal drink drive limit.

Court heard that police attended an address close to where the incident occurred to find the 38-year-old slumped over a kitchen table.

Laura Godliauskaite, of Kernan Hill Manor in Portadown, pleaded guilty to failing to report, failing to provide a specimen of breath and driving with excess alcohol at Craigavon Magistrates’, sitting at Lisburn.

Prosecution outlined that on June 8, at 6.10pm, police received a report of a car colliding with a parked vehicle on Oakwood Place, Portadown.

A female was observed exiting the vehicle and entering a nearby property. Checks of the offending car showed the last registered owner to be the defendant.

Police attended the property to find Godliauskaite slumped over the kitchen table and a strong smell of intoxicating liquor was noted.

The defendant failed on three separate occasions to submit a sample of breath for a preliminary test and was subsequently arrested.

At 7.20pm, an evidential sample was obtained which gave a reading of 108mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

When interviewed the next morning, Godliauskaite admitted the collision but claimed she had only started drinking after the incident to calm her nerves.

Defence solicitor Bronagh McPartland stated: “She wishes to apologise. This is a high reading and she is not proud of it. She has one relevant previous which was 16 years ago.

“She fully accepts that she was not as honest as she should have been. With not taking the breath test she says she felt as if there was no point as they had seen her drinking.”

She continued: “She is originally from Lithuania. She moved to Northern Ireland in 2004 and has been in constant employment.

“She had been celebrating Father’s Day, according to the Lithuanian calendar, the day before the incident.”

District Judge Amanda Brady stated: “This was a high reading, over three times the limit, and she did not co-operate with the police.”

Godliauskaite was disqualified from driving for 18 months and was ordered to pay a fine of £300, along with the offender’s levy of £15.

The defendant was certified for the drink driving course which would see her ban reduced by one quarter upon completion.

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