Nicole Lisa Thompson in court for high range drink driving

A Hervey Bay woman who crashed her car while her blood alcohol level was almost high enough to kill her was a ‘danger to the community’, a magistrate said in sentencing her.

Nicole Lisa Thompson leaves Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.

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It was “pure luck” the Torquay cleaner had not hurt anybody else when she drove and then crashed her car while her blood alcohol was .372 - almost eight times the legal limit - sentencing Hervey Bay magistrate Trinity McGarvie said on Thursday.

Nicole Lisa Thompson, 53, pleaded guilty to high range drink driving and was lucky to escape actual jail time, instead receiving a suspended jail sentence and losing her licence for 18 months.

The court heard on July 19, 2023, emergency services responded to a single-vehicle crash on Ocean St and found Thompson behind the wheel.

She was taken to Hervey Bay Hospital where she undertook a mandatory blood alcohol test and recorded 0.372 per cent.

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Nicole Lisa Thompson was suspended from driving for 18 months.

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Duty lawyer Virginia Ukpabi said “the stress of her job as a cleaner had left her dependent on alcohol”.

Ms Ukpabi also told the court Thompson had also been assisting in the care of a family member with leukaemia.

The court was told both circumstances had left Thompson “needing alcohol just to get through the day”.

Ms McGarvie said Thompson’s blood alcohol reading was “extraordinary” and told her the choice “to get behind the wheel was inherently dangerous”.

Describing her actions as a “danger to the community “, Ms McGarvie sentenced her to two months imprisonment, wholly suspended for six months, and disqualified her from driving for 18 months.

Convictions were recorded.