Boozy driver’s licence suspended for crashing into oncoming car in Endeavour Hills
A legal assistant has been fined nearly $1000 and had her licence suspended for 22 months after a drunken crash on the wrong side of the road.
South East
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A BOOZY driver drifted on and off the road 20 times in a 15-minute period before veering onto the wrong side and smashing into an oncoming car.
Dandenong Magistrates’ Court heard that Loretta Bernadette Foti said she had drunk “an unknown number of glasses of vodka and orange juice” the previous night and taken a sleeping pill at 4am before getting in her car about 10am.
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Police said a witness saw Foti driving for about 15 minutes, during which time the accused drifted into the gravel on the side of Churchill Park Drive, Endeavour Hills on no less than 20 occasions.
“[The witness’] opinion at this stage was that the driver kept falling asleep and waking when the wheels hit the gravel,” a police prosecutor told the court.
The prosecution said the witness saw Foti’s car turn onto Heatherton Rd, at times drifting wholly into the oncoming lane.
She drove towards the intersection where Belgrave-Hallam Rd becomes Narre Warren North Rd and then veered off the road, before overcorrecting into the oncoming lane and colliding head-on with another vehicle.
Foti and the victim suffered minor injuries.
Police took a blood sample after Foti was admitted to Dandenong Hospital which returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.110.
On October 9 Foti, a legal assistant, pleaded guilty to charges of drink driving and dangerous driving charges in connection with the March 31 incident.
She told the court that she rarely drank alcohol and hadn’t had a drink since the crash.
“I’m extremely, extremely remorseful. I should not have driven on that day,” she said.
“Just knowing that I hit someone and could have killed them, myself and others on the road, I live with that every day.”
Ms Foti said her adult children were “disgusted” when she informed them of the incident.
“They just couldn’t believe it,” she told the court.
Magistrate Sharon McRae took into account the fact that Ms Foti didn’t have an ongoing problem with drinking.
“Your driving on this day — I can’t even begin to describe it. It could have been a lot worse,” Ms McRae said.
“But it does look like this was out of character for you.”
Ms Foti’s driver’s license was suspended for a period of 22 months, effective from October 9.
She was fined $974.30.
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