A woman who crashed into a roadside barrier with a child in the car was so drunk she had to be held up by officers to stop her from falling over.
Stephanie Wozniak, 30, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted being more than three times the drink-drive limit when she smashed her car into railings on Provost Fraser Drive, Aberdeen.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the collision caused extensive damage to the front of her vehicle.
Thankfully the child on board was unharmed as it was strapped into a booster seat.
Wozniak also admitted a campaign of intimidation against her neighbours, even wrenching off one woman’s doorbell camera with a screwdriver.
‘Extremely dilated pupils’
Fiscal depute Jennifer Pritchard told the court that at around 9.15pm on April 16 this year police officers were on mobile patrol when they saw Wozniak standing next to her car stopped after a road traffic incident.
“They saw that the vehicle had collided with pedestrian railings on Provost Fraser Drive and had extensive frontal damage,” Ms Pritchard said.
“The accused was sitting on the pavement nearby holding a child who had fallen asleep.
“On speaking with the accused, police officers were able to establish that the child had been restrained in a booster seat in the front passenger seat.
“They saw that the accused had extremely dilated pupils and was slurring her words.
“She identified herself as the driver of the vehicle at the time and provided a specimen of breath, which provided a positive result.”
Ms Prtichard added that noted while walking and holding the child, Wozniak was unstable on her feet and was almost falling over.
She added: “Officers had to assist her by holding her arm to prevent her from falling.”
Wozniak was cautioned, arrested and taken to Kittybrewster Police Station where she was breath tested.
She gave a reading of 69 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22mcg.
The nightmare neighbour
The court also heard that between April 29 and May 27 last year Wozniak harassed and verbally abused her neighbours on Seaton Walk in Aberdeen.
She repeatedly kicked one woman’s door as she passed and called her “a rat”.
Wozniak also tried to prise off another neighbour’s doorbell camera with a screwdriver.
As the camera continued to film her, Wozniak was heard saying to a friend “watch this because she won’t have a camera anymore” and “pretty sure this is illegal”.
Wozniak pleaded guilty to two charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and two charges of reckless damage to property.
She also admitted one charge of driving while drunk and an additional charge of being in charge of a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a child in the car.
Defence agent Lisa Riley described Wozniak’s decision to drive her car while drunk as “extremely misjudged”.
She added: “She realised that she put the child and the public at risk and she is deeply apologetic for her actions.
“She is still struggling with alcohol, but she hopes this is a blip that doesn’t continue.”
Ms Riley stated that Wozniak’s actions towards her neighbours had come about because she had felt “ostracised” by them, but added that this “does not excuse her behaviour”.
Sheriff Lesley Johnstone told Wozniak that she was “fortunate” that someone “wasn’t more seriously injured” by her driving while drunk.
She added: “You were significantly over the limit and there are other factors, such as there was a child in the car.”
Sheriff Johnston sentenced Wozniak to a community payback order with supervision for 18 months and ordered her to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
She also disqualified Wozniak, of Stronsay Drive, Aberdeen, from driving for 16 months.
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