Barbara Kowalczyk, aged 40, from Railway View, Coalisland, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court charged with driving while unfit through drink/drugs and danger driving. Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to NorthernIrelandWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. An interim disqualification was ordered by the court on September 6 this year.
The court heard that on March 4 this year, police were told of a Mercedes being driven erratically on the M12 with the vehicle ‘swerving across lanes’. It then mounted the M12 roundabout ‘going airborne and crashing into a barrier’. A prosecutor said an ambulance crew suspected the driver to be under the influence of drink or drugs and ‘had slurred speech and appeared unsteady on her feet.
Advertisement Advertisement Kowalczyk failed a preliminary breath test and blood tests revealed 167 milligrams of alcohol to 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. Cannabis was also detected.
During interview she denied taking alcohol and cannabis, saying she couldn’t remember details. The court was told she has no previous record. District Judge Michael Ranaghan asked Kowalczyk’s barrister, Mr Conor Lunny, why, with the defendant having nothing previous, the pre-sentence report describes her as having a ‘medium risk of reoffending’.
Advertisement Advertisement Mr Lunny said he also didn’t understand th.
