Kyiah Chalmers: Grafton woman sentenced for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, drink driving

A North Coast drink driver who failed an RBT after brutally bashing a stranger on the street lied and told police she blew over because she “deeply kissed” a man who had been drinking.

Kyiah Chalmers leaves Grafton Local Court.

A North Coast drink driver pulled up for an RBT after bashing a woman on the street told police she only blew over because she “deeply kissed” a man who had been drinking alcohol.

While a toxicologist has revealed outside court that it is theoretically possible, police viewed CCTV footage from Grafton’s Clocktower Hotel and found Kyiah Chalmers “clearly lied” about her reason for failing the random breath test.

Officers soon found out the 18-year-old from Grafton had brutally attacked a stranger on the streets of the regional city.

Chalmers fronted Grafton Local Court on Monday, pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and mid-range drink driving.

Kyiah Chalmers outside Grafton Local Court.

Her out-of-control behaviour began on the evening of August 18, after partying with friends at the Clocktower Hotel, according to court documents.

The pub closed just before midnight and the group of revellers made their way down Prince St, walking to Grafton Hotel.

Chalmers called out “oi s--t” to the victim, a young woman she did not know, and started to strike the victim’s face with a closed fist.

“The (victim) experienced immediate pain and sunk to the ground with her arms raised to cover her face from the oncoming and repeated strikes,” police state in the documents.

“At some point, it is alleged that (Chalmers) struck the victim with her foot, kicking her in the head.”

The brutal assault was captured on a young woman’s mobile phone.

The court was told the video showed Chalmers striking the other woman multiple times as she was lying on the concrete outside Good Price Pharmacy.

Kyiah Chalmers walks from Grafton Local Court.

A friend of the victim intervened and took her to hospital.

She was suffering “extensive bleeding from her nose which stained her dress, legs and hands”.

Chalmers came to the attention of police soon after – initially for drink driving, rather than the attack.

She was pulled over on Pound St and blew 0.085 about 1.20am, resulting in her arrest.

Chalmers told officers “she had consumed no alcohol at all”.

“ … the only answer that she could provide as to why the breath analysis returned a reading was that she deeply kissed a male … who had been drinking earlier in the night,” the documents state.

That fabrication quickly fell apart after the victim of the assault showed up at the police station.

Chalmers failed an RBT and was arrested.

Police went to Clocktower Hotel and watched footage showing Chalmers in a red dress, clearly downing a can of Smirnoff “double shot” vodka.

“ … as expected, (Chalmers) had clearly lied about her consumption of alcohol,” the documents state.

Dr Ian Musgrave, a molecular pharmacologist and toxicologist at the University of Adelaide, said: “There is a possibility (of false positives) if there was the transfer of enough alcohol.”

But the lecturer said it was “exceedingly unlikely” unless a person “was very passionately kissing someone who had a straight spirit like vodka within 15 minutes or so” of being breath tested.

Even then, he said alcohol transferred in oral fluid would be “rapidly eliminated”.

Chalmers represented herself and told the court she “had a lot going on this year” and her grandmother recently died.

Magistrate Juliana Crofts said she was concerned about Chalmers, who had been “going a bit off the rails”.

Chalmers was convicted and sentenced to a 12-month conditional release order.

She was disqualified from driving for three months and fined $400.