Jay Louise Fawcett: local teacher drove drunk in school zone

A woman had a few drinks to deal with back pain before she was caught drink driving through a school zone at 8am in the morning.

A public school teacher has been caught drinking driving through a school zone at 8am in the morning on her way to work.

Jay Louise Fawcett, 49, faced Moss Vale Local Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to mid-range drink driving in Mittagong.

At just after 8am on March 12, police saw Fawcett’s car turning off Renwick Rd without indicating. The car was driving through a school zone during restricted speed hours on a Friday.

Police stopped Fawcett for a random breath test and found her to be “moderately affected” by alcohol, according to the court documents.

Local teacher Jay Louise Fawcett has pleaded guilty to mid-range drink driving on her way to work.

“(H)er eyes were glassy, speech was fast and nervous at the time of being detected,” police stated.

Fawcett admitted she had been drinking wine the night before and couldn’t remember when she had her last drink. Her lawyer told the court his client had woken at 6am and had felt tired but not drunk.

“She instructs me that, had she felt intoxicated, she would not have driven,” he said.

She was arrested for the purpose of a breath test at the police station, where she returned a 0.112 reading, over twice the legal limit.

The court heard Fawcett has been having a difficult year with her two adult children, who were both living with her when they became involved with drugs. Her lawyer told the court Fawcett had to kick her children out of the house and has been charged with assault and intimidation as a result.

Jay Louise Fawcett is a teacher at Mittagong Public School. Picture: Google

“She’s developed anxiety,” he said.

To add to the ordeal, her lawyer said Fawcett has been suffering from ongoing back pain.

“She was dealing with pain and decided to have a few drinks to deal with the pain,” he said.

“She’s been dealing with a lot in the past few months.”

Fawcett is a public school teacher at Mittagong Public School who usually drives to work but now has to walk over an hour with a sore back, the court heard.

Despite the charges, the court heard Fawcett is a person of “good character” who is “well regarded” within the community.

Magistrate Michael Antrum agreed with the assessment, although he stressed the potential “carnage” that could have resulted from Fawcett’s drink driving.

Jay Louise Fawcett looked distressed when she appeared at Moss Vale Local Court on Wednesday. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

He took into account her lack of criminal record and her current family troubles as mitigating factors.

“You are a hardworking woman,” he said.

“You’ve gone through a good deal of stress in recent times. Unfortunately children don’t always mature at the same rate.”

He disqualified Fawcett from driving for three months and ordered her to drive with an interlock alcohol detection device for a year. He also fined her $660.