A drunk mum who drove straight into the front of a Tesco Express then got battered by a woman pushing a pram shortly afterwards.
Emma Poingdestre was nearly three times over the limit when she got behind the wheel and went shopping. A judge today told her that it was by “luck and not judgement” that she had not caused a fatality.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday (Friday) that police received reports of a Kia vehicle crashing into the front of Tesco Express on Sefton Road in Litherland shortly after 8.30pm on August 24 last year. Officers attended the scene and found motorist Poingdestre “slurring her words, unsteady on her feet and strongly smelling of intoxicants”, the Liverpool Echo reports.
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Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, described how the 55-year-old, of Moss Lane in Litherland, failed a roadside breath test and was arrested. In custody, she was found to have at least 102 microgrammes of alcohol in her system per 100ml of breath – the legal limit being 35mg.
CCTV footage, which was played to the court, showed Poingdestre edging into a parking space before suddenly accelerating into the shopfront and causing £26,340 of damage.
She was then seen driving off for a short distance along the pavement outside the premises before getting out of her vehicle, at which stage an unidentified woman was seen pushing her to the floor then punching and kicking her on the ground.
The court heard there was “evidence that she was pushing a pram and that the car had nearly crashed into her”, although this was not seen on the video. Poingdestre has no previous convictions.
Andrew Sinker, defending, told the court his client had previously worked as an NHS dietician and for Barnardo’s, as well as helping her son to run a pub in the New Forest before moving to Liverpool shortly before lockdown. He added: “There is a suggestion that she nearly collided with the pram.
“That is not seen on the footage, and any evidence is clearly hearsay. On the day in question, she drove a short distance to Tesco to purchase food. She was in her son’s car, an electric car which she did not often drive. Effectively, she puts her foot on the accelerator rather than the brake.
“It is a very short lived period of driving. It is only in seconds, effectively, that the dangerous driving has happened. She is ashamed of herself and sorry. She has lived an industrious life and has been a valued member of society.
“Following the end of an abusive relationship, she turned to alcohol. That has clearly led to these offences. She has taken steps to address that and was abstinent for a period of time. She tells me she hasn’t drunk anything for the last three weeks.
“It is an isolated offence. In my submission, there is very little risk of reconviction.”
Poingdestre admitted dangerous driving and drink driving. She was handed an eight-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months, 100 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days, as well as being banned from the roads for three years.
Sentencing, Recorder Peter Cowan said: “You took the extraordinary decision to drive when you were three times over the legal limit, which had the predictable consequence of you crashing into the front of Tesco Express and causing £26,000 of damage and no doubt dismaying members of staff and members of the public by the force of that impact. Make no mistake, if you had killed somebody you would be going to prison for many years.
“It is luck and not judgement that avoided that outcome. Plainly, you are an alcoholic. You have taken steps to address that. You are moving in the right direction.”
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