Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Hamilton: LGH nurse guilty of high-range DUI

A Tasmanian nurse was followed after being seen sideswiping a parked car during a wild, dangerous drive through the suburbs on her way to the bottle-o, a court has heard.

A respected Tasmanian nurse driving three times the legal blood-alcohol limit sideswiped a vehicle and carried on her merry way to the bottle shop, with a witness to the original prang who followed her describing a terrifying sequence of further near-misses.

East Launceston woman Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Ann Hamilton, who Launceston Magistrates Court heard on Monday is a nurse at the Launceston General Hospital, pleaded guilty to charges of driving a vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor and failing to comply with the duties of a driver involved in a crash.

The court heard the offending commenced about 5.20pm on December 19 last year.

The witness saw Hamilton sideswipe a parked vehicle on Arthur St, East Launceston, and followed her in his own vehicle, after calling police, when she didn’t stop to leave her details.

Hamilton continued on before parking across the driveway of cafe/foodstore Alps & Amici, where she “stumbled” to the entrance before returning to her vehicle when she realised the store was closed.

The court heard the witness then continued following Hamilton, witnessing her “speeding and driving all over the road”, “narrowly avoiding” a collision on High St, cutting off another motorist and driving over a roundabout, and nearly running a red light at the intersection of Charles and Frederick streets, where she came to a stop half over the stop line.

She arrived at Duncan’s Bottle Shop where she was met by police, who had been directed there by the witness.

Hamilton returned a blood-alcohol content reading of 0.15 per cent, three times the legal limit, and admitted she was buying more alcohol.

The court heard this is Hamilton’s third drink driving offence in a decade, all of them at least mid-range.

Defence lawyer Fran McCracken told the court her client was self-medicating with alcohol after receiving “distressing” news in the days prior which aggravated pre-existing conditions.

Ms McCracken said her client would lose some work as a result of the licence disqualification, as she performed three days per fortnight in a “hospital avoidance” role, meaning she was on the road out in the community.

She noted her client had been sober since the beginning of February.

Magistrate Simon Brown said, with three mid- to high-range drink driving convictions now on her record, the consequences if she fell off the wagon again would be “dire”.

He fined her $2000 and disqualified her licence for 27 months.