Laura Hankinson: Launceston teen blows 0.147% BAC behind wheel

A Tasmanian P-plater has broken down while telling a court what was going through her mind when she got behind the wheel while well over the limit.

A young Tasmanian P-plater has broken down while telling a magistrate what was going through her mind when she got behind the wheel of a car while nearly three times the legal blood-alcohol limit.

Trevallyn hairdresser Laura May Hankinson, 19, was sentenced in Launceston Magistrates Court on Tuesday on a charge of exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit after previously pleading guilty.

The court heard police detected Hankinson driving on Brisbane St, Launceston about 9.30pm on November 20 last year while undertaking mobile patrols.

The P-plate driver returned a reading of 0.147 per cent BAC, fractionally shy of three times the legal limit.

Breaking News Breaking News Teen Trevallyn hairdresser Laura May Hankinson, 19. Picture: Facebook

When asked by Magistrate Sharon Cure what she was thinking, Hankinson broke down.

“It was very out of character for me,” she said.

“I had a bit going on in my life, I’d just been through a toxic break-up.

“I got into a car accident, which was not my fault, a few weeks prior and wrote a very expensive car off.

“I shouldn’t have been drinking in the first place.”

Ms Cure said it was a “very high reading” for a P-plater.

“You know this was a bad decision,” Ms Cure said.

“You don’t need me to wag my finger at you.”

Hankinson was disqualified from driving for six months, backdated to November 19 last year, and fined $692.

She will also pay a court levy of $109.30.

A conviction was recorded.