A Hogmanay drink-driver ploughed into a shopfront in Macduff while more than six times the limit.
Monika Godlewska came to the attention of New Year revellers when her car mounted the pavement, crashed into a shop front and came to rest across both carriageways of Duff Street.
When the 39-year-old got out and a witness asked her if she was okay, it didn’t take them long to spot she was under the influence, Banff Sheriff Court was told.
Fiscal depute Ellen Barr said the crash occurred at 9.40pm on December 31 last year.
“A witness was outside a local bar when he heard a loud crash and looked up the street and saw the accused’s vehicle had collided with a shop front,” she said.
“He saw that the car appeared to have mounted the pavement, collided with a building and come to rest across both carriageways.
“The accused exited the vehicle. She was alone and the witness asked if she needed an ambulance. He formed the opinion she had been drinking and called the police.”
Was more than six times the limit
Officers found Godlewska unsteady on her feet and smelling of alcohol. She was taken into custody, where she gave a positive test for alcohol and checks showed she had no insurance.
She admitted drink-driving with 141 mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the legal limit being 22 mcg.
Her defence agent Stuart Beveridge said she had a previous drink-driving conviction from 2017.
“Alcohol is an issue for her,” he said, adding that her financial situation was “fairly poor” given she no longer works due to mental health issues.
The court heard that Godlewska’s car was immediately seized by the Crown when she pled guilty at the case’s first calling.
Sheriff Robert McDonald told her it was an “exceptionally high reading”.
Her car has been forfeited
“I would have disqualified you for six years,” he said. “But you pled guilty at the earliest opportunity so I give a discount down to four years.
“Your car has already been forfeited but for the avoidance of doubt – your car is gone. You’re not getting it back.”
Godlewska, of Clergy Street, Macduff, was handed a four-year roads ban, 100 hours of unpaid work and a one-year supervision order as an alternative to a fine.
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