Rebecca Ann Shelley: Woman pleads guilty to drink driving in Warwick court

The woman’s erratic swerving across a highway left a trail of crumbs for police to find her behind the wheel at more than twice the alcohol limit with fried chicken in hand.

IN COURT: A woman grabbed some KFC for the road before being busted for drink driving on the New England Highway. Picture: Emma Channon/ Warwick Daily News

A drink driver has paid the price in the Warwick court for a boozed-up highway dash that ended when she was found parked across the driveway of a closed servo with half-eaten KFC in hand.

Rebecca Ann Shelley was first caught out when her erratic driving along the New England Highway on July 11 made other drivers concerned enough to call the police.

The Warwick Magistrates Court heard the 39-year-old was “driving all over the road” and crossing over the centre lines on the highway, with other road users questioning whether she’d fallen asleep.

Police prosecutor Ken Wiggan said officers soon tracked down Shelley, finding her intoxicated and parked in the driveway of the Freedom Fuel Allora service station.

“Her park lights were on, she had a piece of chicken in her hand and a box of KFC on the front seat,” Sergeant Wiggan said.

“She told police she’d had a few drinks before driving, but had pulled over to have some dinner.”

Shelley was breath-tested at the scene and returned a blood alcohol concentration of 0.120, meaning her licence was suspended on the spot.

The self-represented woman told the court she was trying to get to her home in Toowoomba, but knew she’d done the wrong thing only a short way into her journey.

“I got behind the wheel and realised I might have been over the limit, so I intended to stop to eat and sleep it off,” Shelley said.

She also asked the court to take the period her licence had already been suspended into account, as she relied on driving to her mental health and rehabilitation appointments.

Shelley pleaded guilty to one count of drink driving.

She was fined $850 and disqualified from driving for seven months.