Booze-fuelled school-run mum narrowly escapes prison sentence after crashing with parked car

A school-run mum who was three-times the drink-drive limit collided with a parked car and a village hall building when she went to collect her children.
Drink-driving.Drink-driving.
Drink-driving.

BMW driver Rebecca Richardson, 36, of High Hazels Close, Clay Cross, collided with a parked Ford Mondeo before reversing into a village hall car park and colliding with a building at the hall near Green Lane, at Tupton, Chesterfield.

Prosecuting solicitor Sarah Haslam told a Chesterfield magistrates’ court hearing on Tuesday, June 13: “Ms Richardson was driving her black BMW on February 26 in the afternoon and collided with a parked Ford Mondeo, reversed and drove into the car park of a village hall and collided with a building at the hall.

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“She went towards fencing but didn’t touch it and she got our and there were lots of children and parents at picking-up time at school.”

Richardson failed a roadside breath test and was taken to a police station where she gave a sample of blood and she was registered at three-times the legal drink-drive limit.

She pleaded guilty to exceeding the alcohol drink-drive limit after registering 234 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood when the legal limit is 80 milligrammes.

Defence solicitor John Wilford said: “She had decided she was unfit to drive the car and grandma lives around the corner and she was going to leave the car there and not take the children.”

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Mr Wilford added that Richardson’s mother had died on Christmas Eve and she has been struggling to cope and alcohol-use had become a problem.

Richardson had returned home from work, according to Mr Wilford, and had a couple of glasses of wine and had tried and failed to get a family member to pick up her children so she decided to drive.

Mr Wilford said: “It was a poor decision at a time when she was under a great deal of stress and was having medication for depression.”

District Judge Andrew Davison warned Richardson that her alcohol reading was just below a reading that would have allowed the court to consider a 12 week prison sentence.

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Richardson was sentenced to a 12 month community order with a Drink Impaired Drivers programme, a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 160 hours of unpaid work.

She was also disqualified from driving for 28 months and must pay an £85 victim surcharge and £85 costs.