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20
Mar
Woman who crashed into wall when almost three-times the limit banned
A drunk driver who collided with a wall in Harrogate has been banned from driving.
Nina Breyal, 24, pleaded guilty to one offence of drink-driving during a hearing at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday (March 19).
Alison Whiteley, prosecuting, told the court police received a report of a collision on Lady Lane in Harrogate just after 10pm on March 4 this year.
Police went to the scene, where they found a white Vauxhall Corsa, which was registered to Breyal, had collided with a wall at the junction with Beckwith Head Road.
Breyal was the only person at the scene at the time, and she told police another car had “clipped” her vehicle and caused her to crash into the wall.
“She said the other car failed to stop”, Ms Whiteley said.
The court heard Breyal also told police she had drunk two bottles of Budweiser that evening, but “felt ok to drive”.
After providing a roadside breath test, Breyal was taken to the police station where she later recorded 94 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
The legal limit is just 35 micrograms.
Defendant ‘drank on an empty stomach’
Sean Wilson, defending, told the court Breyal is of previous good character.
He provided the magistrates with character references, which were not read in court, and said Breyal regularly works between 40 and 48 hours each week as a chef.
He added:
Ms Breyal is driving and was involved in a road-traffic collision. She says she was clipped, but police didn’t find any evidence of this.
She also gave a no comment interview at the police station.
Breyal, of Leylands Road in Leeds, drank alcohol on an “empty stomach” that day, but Mr Wilson said the defendant claimed she “never usually drinks that much”.
He added she has not drunk alcohol since the incident.
Defendant is an ‘intelligent individual’
The case was temporarily stood down for a pre-sentence report.
When it resumed, probation officer Andrew Watson told the court Breyal works at a in Harrogate.
Breyal works anti-social hours and doesn’t get a set day off, but, on top of her work, she also volunteers and is involved in her local rugby club.
Mr Watson said:
That day, she had had quite a long day – she set off at 5.30am and finished at 5pm. She went for a drink with her work colleague and over the course of that, she had three pints of lager.
As a result, Mr Watson said, Breyal “lost control of her car” when she was driving.
He told the magistrates Breyal claimed to have been suffering from “work-related stress” at the time, adding it is clear she was “ignorant of the practical amounts of alcohol someone can drink before driving”.
Breyal has since taken steps to address her issues, including seeking support from a Sikh temple.
“She is now aware of the danger she put people in”, Mr Watson added.
He told the court:
This is the defendant's first time in court... she doesn’t have any criminogenic needs and is an intelligent individual.
Passing sentence, the chair of the magistrates’ bench told Breyal the offence “appears to be a one-off, serious error of judgement”.
She was banned from driving for 23 months, which will be reduced by 23 weeks if she completes a drink-drive awareness course, and ordered to pay a total of £946 to the court.
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