Hannah Stratton: Numurkah woman drives drunk, flips car while on bail

A Numurkah woman accused of drug dealing, who allegedly flipped her car while drunk, was getting her life back on track – until her grandfather’s birthday.

Hannah Stratton will remain in custody until her court hearing on January 22.

An alleged Numurkah drug dealer who drove an “unroadworthy” car into a paddock while 3.5 times over the legal alcohol limit – despite being on bail – will spend Christmas in custody.

Shepparton Magistrates’ Court heard Hannah Stratton, 31, sped off in an unregistered sedan from her Strathmerton bail address on December 9 about 5:45pm.

While driving down Hays Rd, the court heard Ms Stratton lost control and crashed through a fence into a paddock, flipping the car on its side.

Stratton ran away and was found by police walking along the Goulburn Valley Hwy.

A breath test revealed she had a blood alcohol reading of 0.175.

When in custody, a furious Ms Stratton ripped up a cushion from a bench and threw it around the cell while also hurling wet toilet paper.

The court heard Ms Stratton was “spitting”, “abusive” and “erratic” in her behaviour and was not able to be interviewed.

The prosecution said she was on four counts of bail after police allegedly found GHB, meth, and $24,000 of drug money stashed around her home

Ms Stratton’s lawyer Ian Michaelson said his client understood it was an “act of self sabotage”.

“To undo all that, and obviously put herself and others at risk, was terribly disappointing – and she agrees,” he said.

Mr Michaelson said his client had her grandfather’s birthday, and despite not being allowed to drink on bail, she “weakened” and had one glass – which turned into sharing two bottles of wine.

“She couldn’t flick the switch to stop,” Mr Michaelson said.

However, the court heard it was “one step forward, two steps back” as Ms Stratton had not taken drugs since granted bail last month.

The court also heard Stratton’s family upheld their promise to the court and called the police straight away when they noticed she had driven off in the “unroadworthy” car.

Mr Michaelson suggested Ms Stratton undergo a psychological assessment, given she had been bailed to bond with her young child.

Magistrate Mary-Anne MacCallum said the bail matters would be heard on January 22 and Ms Stratton would remain in custody.

“You’ve got lots to think about between now and then,” Ms MacCallum told Ms Stratton.

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