Mother driving with three kids in the back 'too drunk' to spot police car driving alongside
A single mother from southwest Sydney is facing possible jail time after she was caught driving drunk with three children in the back seat.
Kara Macallister, 39, was almost four times the limit when she pulled into the path of a marked police car, sparking a low speed pursuit.
Full of remorse and deeply embarrassed, the Liverpool woman’s driving was so atrocious that one night in September, it was clear to police she was under the influence.
“I made a mistake that's all,” she told 7 News outside court on Wednesday.
Ms Macallister was driving in the middle lane on the Hume Highway so drunk she didn't notice a marked police car right next to her.
She pulled in front of it, forcing the officers to brake suddenly.
They put on their lights and sirens, but she continued driving with the police following close behind.
The court heard Ms Macallister finally stopped for police, who ran up to her door and ripped the keys out of the vehicle’s ignition so she couldn't go any further.
At that point she said, "all right all right, you've got me".
She blew 0.182, and when officers asked her how much she had to drink she replied, "don't know, too drunk".
"Courts have to send a clear message that if you drive whilst under the influence at high range, in all hood, you're going to jail," said Victims of Crime Advocate Howard Brown.
Ms McAllister urged other stressed out parents to reach out for support instead of the bottle.
“Just receive help,” she said.
She will be sentenced next month.
