Sarah Stanford pleads guilty to dangerous driving during Bendigo police pursuit

A Bendigo woman will be released on her 20th count of bail after she injected GHB during a Christmas Day cop chase while already on bail for another drug-fuelled high speed pursuit.

Sarah Stanford. Picture: Supplied.

A repeat offender has been given a 20th chance, being released on bail again after she injected GHB during a Christmas Day cop chase – while on bail for another drug fuelled police chase.

Sarah Stanford, 28, pleaded guilty at Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to a slew of driving offences.

While on bail with a condition not to drive, Stanford – who has never held a licence – while driving a grey Peugeot hatchback with “obviously fake plates” drove at a high speed down the wrong side of Nelson St towards Eaglehawk Rd, California Gully through oncoming traffic when police tried to intercept her.

Stanford was on bail at the time for a high speed police pursuit on Christmas Day, fleeing police on the Midland Highway at Huntly about 1.30am.

Police deployed road spikes on Howard St, Ascot, blowing two of her tyres out, but she allegedly “continued straight through a red light at a fast rate of speed” before stopping in the middle of the road.

Stanford led police on a high-speed chase through Bendigo. Picture: Supplied.

Stanford told police she had shot up GHB during the police chase when they found a syringe in the car, a bag of meth in her bra and several bars of Xanax during her arrest.

Police previously told the court Stanford had continued to reoffend across 19 counts of bail with a “multitude of different conditions” not doing anything to slow her down.

On Thursday, after an unsuccessful bail application in April, Stanford’s lawyer argued Stanford should be released after spending 88 days in custody because the drug addict was in a “help-seeking phase”.

Police expressed some concern that Stanford already had numerous supports, including multiple tax payer funded NDIS workers who the court heard helped her with cooking, cleaning and various other daily tasks – all of which had done nothing to stop her from offending.

Magistrate Megan Aumair said a term of imprisonment was called for, but Stanford also desperately needed help with her drug addiction.

Ms Aumair decided to release Stanford on bail again to undergo CRISP bail so she can receive drug rehabilitation treatment, setting a release date of July 22.