Breanna Bochenek: licence suspension quashed after desperate court plea

A Mid North Coast student nurse was overcome by emotions as she pleaded with a magistrate to overturn her licence suspension after she was caught exceeding the P-plater speed limit.

A Mid North Coast nursing student busted driving over the P-plate speed limit left court with tears in her eyes after a magistrate made the rare decision to let her keep her licence.

Breanna Bochenek, 19, was caught travelling 113km/h on the Pacific Hwy near Cooperhook despite holding a P1 licence with a speed limit of 90km/h.

The P-plater told police she was distracted while driving after seeing a spider on her arm, court documents reveal.

Magistrate Georgina Darcy told Bochenek that was no excuse and, if that was the case, she should have slowed down rather than speeding up.

While the excuse for being distracted behind the wheel did not help her appeal, Bochenek’s service to the community – in the severely under-resourced healthcare industry – was able to sway the magistrate.

The Charles Sturt University nursing student told the court she works in hospitals and aged care facilities in both Port Macquarie and Taree.

“I am an Assistant in Nursing, so losing my licence would mean I would have to stop working at Manning Base Hospital in Taree (and leave the facility further understaffed),” Bochenek’s appeal reads.

The young student appealed the RMS decision in Port Macquarie Local Court this week.

The young applicant also spoke of her need to visit family, being the only one able to visit elderly relatives, and having just recently relocated from Newcastle to Port Macquarie for her studies.

“I recently moved out of home and get homesick quite often,” she wrote in her appeal.

Further helping Bochenek’s case was the traffic offender’s program, which she recently completed and reflected on in court.

“I’m remorseful, embarrassed and now understand that speeding affects more than just me,” she told the magistrate.

“I am willing to show that I will be more mindful of my speed and the safety of other on the road,” her appeal reads.

Ms Darcy considered the application, aided by the one personal and two professional references Bochenek handed up.

“You are providing an important service to the community through your work, especially given the staff shortages due to Covid and the flu,” Ms Darcy said.

“But you only got your licence in November last year.

“I’ll allow the appeal, but you must understand this level of leniency is highly unlikely to happen again in the future.”