Drunk driver blows 0.423 after three-hour wine binge
A magistrate has told a woman who drank four bottles of wine before blowing 0.423 on a breathalyser that it was the highest reading she had ever seen in someone alive.
Ruth Spychella, of Clifton Springs, slammed into an off-duty police officer's parked car following a three-hour drinking binge in July this year, a Geelong court has heard.
The 48-year-old was so drunk she had to be carried into a waiting ambulance. A subsequent blood test in hospital produced a staggering reading of .423 per cent.
Magistrate Ann McGarvie said it was the highest reading she had ever come across in a living person, the Geelong Advertiser reports.
Even her lawyer, Richard Concha, said the reading was shockingly high. "I don't know how she was alive, let alone able to move," he said.
Police alleged Spychella had consumed four bottles of wine during a three-hour session before she decided to get behind the wheel.
The court heard she swerved onto the wrong side of the road, mounted a kerb and slammed into a parked car.
"When police arrived Spychella was still in the driver's seat, smelled strongly of alcohol and was slurring her words," Leading Senior Constable Kerrie Moroney told the hearing.
"She needed help to get out of her car and had to be carried to an ambulance."
Spychella pleaded guilty to exceeding .05 and careless driving.
She was placed on a two-year community corrections order and must complete 120 hours of unpaid work.
She was disqualified from driving for two years and was ordered to attend a road awareness course.
News break – November 21
