Terrigal: Drink driver Katherine Anne Andrews almost five times the limit after crashing into car

A woman who sent her ex dozens of harassing text messages and made drunken phone calls, before ploughing into a parked car massively over the limit, was “incredibly irresponsible”, a court has heard.

Katherine Ann Andrews, 41, of Woongarrah, was convicted of high range drink-driving after crashing into a parked car at Noraville and later returning a blood alcohol reading of 0.248. Picture: Facebook

A woman blamed the breakdown of her 10-year marriage for causing her so much anxiety it impaired her ability to distinguish between right and wrong in the eyes of the law, a court has heard.

Katherine Anne Andrews, of Woongarrah, faced Gosford Local Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to three counts of contravening an apprehended violence order (AVO), one count of using a carriage service to harass and high range drink-driving.

However the 41-year-old applied to have the charges dealt with under mental health provisions with her lawyer telling the court Andrews was suffering so much anxiety she could not be held criminally responsible.

Magistrate Jennifer Price said while she accepted Andrews was suffering some “generalised anxiety” and there was “a degree of causation” it was “not necessarily directly” the reason for her offending.

Ms Price rejected the mental health application and instead convicted Andrews of all five offences and put her on a community correction order for 18 months and fined her a total of $1100.

Katherine Ann Andrews, 41, of Woongarrah, was convicted of high range drink-driving after crashing into a parked car at Noraville and later returning a blood alcohol reading of 0.248. Picture: Facebook

Ms Price also disqualified Andrews from driving for six months and ordered she be put on an interlock device for a further 24 months.

Andrews’ solicitor Marc Rivière told the court up until 2022 his client was a law-abiding citizen when she called it quits on her 10-year marriage.

Katherine Ann Andrews, 41, of Woongarrah, leaving Gosford Local Court where she was convicted and sentenced for breaching AVOs, using a carriage service to harass and high range drink-driving when she blew 0.248 after hitting a parked car. Picture: NewsLocal

Mr Rivière said after the break up she was initially protected by an AVO but through a series of incidents police then took out an AVO against her.

The court heard Andrews was on bail for allegedly breaching the AVO when she rang her ex-husband up several times and spoke to his new partner who formed the opinion Andrews was drunk.

Over several weeks in September and October 2022, Andrews sent her ex many text messages to which he replied “stop harassing me”.

At one point the police were called to Andrews’ then Terrigal address where she was arrested.

About 8.30pm on October 17, 2022, police were called to Main Rd, Noraville, after reports of a crash.

Katherine Ann Andrews, 41, of Woongarrah, leaving Gosford Local Court where she was convicted and sentenced for breaching AVOs, using a carriage service to harass and high range drink-driving when she blew 0.248 after hitting a parked car. Picture: NewsLocal

When they arrived they found Andrews staggering around drunk having just ploughed into a parked car and was “excessively irritable when questioned”.

Andrews refused to undergo a breath test and was carrying on so much police had to put her in handcuffs before she was taken to Wyong Hospital where she underwent a blood test.

The test later returned a jaw-dropping blood alcohol reading of 0.248.

The magistrate described the drink-driving and subsequent crash as “incredibly irresponsible behaviour” and that regardless of whether Andrews felt the AVO against her was justified or her breaches were “minor” it represented a “disregard of court orders”.

Ms Price said, anxious or not, Andrews was on bail when she breached the AVO twice and there was a “pattern” of text messaging that showed Andrews felt as if “the rules don’t apply” to her.