NSW COVID-19 restrictions: Mum who crashed car among new fines and charges

A mother who crashed her car with her child inside and ran from police is among 273 people charged or fined for breaching the Public Health Act.

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A woman who crashed her car into a traffic light with her child in the vehicle is among 28 people charged under the coronavirus public health restrictions

So far police have issued 245 fines under the Public Health Act, including NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin, who announced his resignation on Friday night after being caught staying at his holiday home on the Central Coast.

Police are out in force this Easter long weekend making sure everyone stays home. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

The 33-year-old woman crashed her Holden Commodore into a traffic light in Glendale, west of Newcastle, just before 10pm last night. The woman took her 3-year-old child out of the car and ran away from the crash site. When she was found by police a short time later, the woman refused to provide both a roadside breath-test and a test at Toronto Police Station.

The woman had left a 2-year-old child at home without supervision. She was charged with negligent driving, neglecting a child and for failing to provide a breath sample.

She was also charged under the Public Health Act for not giving a good reason for being outside. 

245 people have been fined under the Public Health Act. Picture: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

Police dealt out plenty of fines for people not giving a good reason for being outside during the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday night police were called to a unit in Campbelltown after reports of a brawl.

Eight people were caught at the unit, seven of who didn’t live at the address. Three men who had previously been warned for breaching the act, aged 19, 20 and 22, were slapped with fines while the others were warned and told to go home.

Many people fined have been given multiple warnings. AAP Image/Richard Wainwright

Police are in many cases giving people multiple fines — a 17-year-old girl was pulled over in Tamworth with her 21 and 30-year-old passengers. Police discovered the two men had already been fined for breaching the Public Health Act and were issued with their second fines for not having a reasonable excuse. The girl was cautioned.

Police fined a 34-year-old man who was travelling on a train without a ticket after he said he was going for a swim, but did not have swimming gear with him. Police seized a knife from the man and fined him after it was revealed he had already been given two warnings.

A 15-year-old girl was fined in Gordon when she was spotted in a group of young people smoking and drinking in a Gordon park. She has already received two warning, and was slapped with a $1000 fine.

Originally published as NSW COVID-19 restrictions: Mum who crashed car among new fines and charges