Crystell Jade Lane: Drunk wedding guest sentenced after flipping car on Sea Cliff Bridge

A Queensland woman attending a wedding in the Illawarra dropped into a scene akin to the Fast and Furious as she flipped a Mercedes-Benz on the Sea Cliff Bridge.

A Queensland woman who ducked out of a wedding before drunkenly flipping her hired Mercedes-Benz on the Illawarra’s iconic Sea Cliff Bridge has copped her punishment.

Crystell Jade Lane, 31, travelled down from Logan to find out her fate in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday after being charged with mid-range drink driving in the wake of the crash on Friday, March 25, 2022.

The court heard Lane had been drinking at a wedding in the Illawarra when she experienced a wardrobe malfunction.

Despite being under the influence of alcohol and wet conditions on the road, Lane decided to rush off in the silver Merc to buy another dress.

At around 4.30pm, Lane was travelling north on the Sea Cliff Bridge near Coalcliff when she lost control of the vehicle and collided with an embankment.

The iconic Sea Cliff Bridge.

The car became airborne, clearing an access driveway on the side, colliding with a number of road signs before landing on top of an embankment five metres above the roadway.

The potentially life-threatening crash finished when the Merc slammed into a large pine tree, slid back down the embankment and came to a stop in the wrong direction on the southbound lane.

A witness contacted emergency services who rushed to the scene with Lane required to be cut from the vehicle and conveyed to Wollongong Hospital.

Lane submitted to a blood-alcohol test which returned a mid-range reading of 0.104.

In court on Tuesday, a self-representing Lane pleaded for leniency from Magistrate Darryl Pearce with the woman from the Logan suburb of Woodridge breaking down as she explained the circumstance which led to her getting behind the wheel.

Crystell Jade Lane leaving Wollongong Courthouse on Tuesday. Picture: Dylan Arvela

Lane told the court she required surgery for a broken back sustained in the crash which will continue to cause her concern “for the rest of her life” and she concluded her case by saying she “just wants to be proud of herself again”.

Lane drew the wrath of Magistrate Pearce as she kept interjecting while he attempted to deliver the sentence.

“You keep interrupting me, please keep quiet,” the magistrate said.

“You’ve already spoken before like you were one of the best QCs in Australia.

“How no one was killed I have no idea. The car went airborne and you landed on top of an embankment that was five metres above the roadway.

“It’s an appalling piece of driving and you put your own life and anyone else using that road’s life at risk.”

Lane was slapped with a $1500 fine and she‘s disqualified from driving for 12 months from Tuesday.