Katherine Norris: ALDI national director convicted for high range drink driving

A former top executive of supermarket giant Aldi who crashed into a parked car while almost five times the legal blood alcohol limit has been convicted.

Katherine Norris. Source: Facebook

A former national director of supermarket giant Aldi who crashed into a parked car while almost five times the legal blood alcohol limit has been convicted.

Katherine Ann Norris, 51 of Glenmore Park, faced Penrith Local Court on Tuesday after previously pleading guilty to high range drink driving. A second charge of negligent driving was withdrawn.

Agreed police facts state in the early evening of December 11, Norris was driving her white Mercedes Benz on a Glenmore Park street when she lost control and rear-ended a parked Subaru.

The impact of the crash saw all four airbags of the Mercedes deployed and both cars significantly damaged.

When police arrived they found the mother-of-two in the driver’s seat crying with glazed eyes and slurred speech. A roadside breath test soon returned a positive result while police also observed Norris needing help walking.

The matter was dealt with at Penrith Local Court

She was then placed under arrest and taken to Penrith police station where a breath analysis returned a range reading of 0.240.

Norris told police she had been drinking straight vodka on an empty stomach since 1pm and had her last drink at 6pm. She also told police she was a national director at Aldi Supermarkets, and that she suffered from depression and had recently gone to rehab.

On Tuesday, an incredulous Magistrate Fiona Toose rejected a suggestion by Norris’ lawyer for the matters to be dealt with on mental health grounds,

“A mental health application for high range PCA? She might never get her licence back, is she aware of that,” she said.

The court heard aside from a drink-driving offence in 2003, Norris was of “extremely good character” with “strong community ties”, had a “high-powered job” and strong insights into her offending. She had been unemployed for the last two to three months, the court heard,

However, Magistrate Toose was not willing to let the matter go without recording a conviction.

“This could have ended really badly. You could have been hurt or killed, or somebody else could have been. You and alcohol need to part company permanently,” she told Norris.

“This is about you taking control of your life and not using the bottle to self medicate.”

Norris was convicted and sentenced to a three year community correction order and fined $1500.

Her driver’s licence was suspended for six months, after which she must have an alcohol interlock device installed on any car she drives.