Michelle Kerr was involved in a single vehicle road traffic collision
AN ENNISKILLEN mother who was caught almost three times the legal drink driving limit after crashing into a ditch has been banned from driving for two years.
25-year-old Michelle Kerr of Killyreagh in Enniskillen admitted to the offence when she appeared before Fermanagh Magistrates Court on Monday.
Kerr was caught drink driving after police officers were alerted to a single road traffic collision on February 24 at around 11.40am on the Belfast Road.
When the officers arrived at the scene they saw Kerr, who was the only passenger, in the driver’s seat of her car which had landed in a ditch.
After the ambulance service and the paramedics pulled her from the car, the police officers noticed a strong smell of alcohol and that her eyes were glazed and speech was slurred.
Kerr was asked to provide a breath sample which showed that she had an alcohol reading of 114 mg in breath. She was cautioned by the officers but made no reply.
The defendant, who appeared in court, was taken to the South West Acute Hospital where a second sample was taken and showed that she had 225 mg of alcohol per 100 mg of blood.
She was made aware of the reading at a later date and officially charged with the offence but did not make any reply.
Defence solicitor for the case Garry Smyth told the court that it was a high reading and that she had admitted to her guilt.
Mr Smyth added that while his client had a previous offence, it was not related to this type of charge.
He added: “She had been on her way home from a friend’s house where she had been drinking to quite late.”
District Judge John Meehan made reference to her alcohol levels saying: “How could you be on a night out and still be three times the legal limit the next day. It must be a shadow of what it had been earlier in the night.”
Mr Smyth highlighted the importance of his client having a drivers’ licence as she was a single parent of a young child and needed a car for her day-to-day business.
Mr Smyth also said that Kerr had not been driving since the incident.
Judge Meehan order Kerr to pay a fine of £215 and banned her from driving for two years.
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