Laura Sheil learns fate on drink-driving charge

A young woman told a court she had “two glasses of wine” in the city with a friend before driving all the way to Sydney’s outer west while under the influence.

Laura Sheil was disqualified from driving for three months and must have an alcohol interlock device on her vehicle for 12 months after pleading guilty to mid-range drink driving. Picture: Facebook

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A young account manager at a Sydney recruitment and ICT consulting company drove all the way from the city to Jordan Springs before being caught drink driving.

Laura Marie Sheil, 26, of Jordan Springs, was charged with mid-range drink driving after she was stopped for a random breath test on Jordan Springs Boulevard at 8.53pm on June 19.

She pleaded to guilty to the charge.

According to police facts, she had a “slight smell of intoxicating liquor” before she blew an alcohol reading of 0.081, just above the mid-range.

She told police she had two glasses of red wine and that she’d eaten chicken souvlaki almost two hours before she was caught.

Laura Sheil told a magistrate through her lawyer that she would be "embarrassed" if she was convicted for drink driving. Picture: Facebook

When police asked her when she’d had her drinks, she said she’d had her first glass at 5.30pm and her second at 7.15pm.

Police described her as “cooperative and respectful of police and all procedures” during the exchange.

Her licence was suspended on site.

In Penrith Local Court on Thursday, Sheil’s lawyer told the court she had no previous convictions or any matters on her traffic record.

She told Magistrate Brian van Zuylen that Sheil worked as an account manager at HiTech Group Australia in Sydney’s CBD, and had dinner with a friend before driving home.

Laura Sheil was convicted and fined $400 for mid-range drink driving after blowing 0.081 in Jordan Springs after driving home from the Sydney CBD. Picture: Facebook

She asked Magistrate van Zuylen to deal with the matter by way of a conditional release order without conviction, saying Sheil would be “embarrassed” to tell her family, friends, and co-workers if she was convicted.

However, Magistrate van Zuylen said the distance Sheil drove before she was caught left him with no choice but to convict her.

He fined Sheil $400, disqualified her license for three months, and ordered a 12-month Interlock once her disqualification was complete.