A drunk mum was beaten by a woman pushing a pram after crashing into a Tesco store.
Emma Poingdestre was almost three times over the limit when she got behind the wheel and went shopping. A judge told her today that the death was not caused by “luck and not by judgment”.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Friday, that police received reports of a Kia vehicle crashing into the front of Tesco Express on Sefton Road, Litherland, shortly after 8.30pm on August 24 last year. The police arrived at the scene and found that the motorist, Poingdestre, was “slurring her words, unsteady on her feet and smelling strongly of intoxicants.”
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Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, described how the 55-year-old, of Moss Lane, Litherland, failed a roadside breath test and was arrested. In custody, she was found to have at least 102 micrograms of alcohol in her body per 100 ml of breath – the legal limit is 35 mg.
CCTV footage, which was played to the court, showed Poingdestre pulling into a parking space before suddenly accelerating into the shop front, causing £26,340 worth of damage. She was then seen driving a short distance down the pavement outside the premises before exiting the vehicle, at which stage an unknown woman was seen pushing her to the floor and then punching and kicking her on the ground.
The court heard “evidence that she was pushing the pram and the car almost crashed into her”, although this was not seen on the video. Poingdestre has no previous convictions.
Andrew Sinker, defending, told the court his client had previously worked as an NHS dietitian and for Barnardo’s, as well as helping his son run a pub in the New Forest, before moving to Liverpool shortly before the lockdown. He added: “There is an indication that she almost collided with the pram.
“You can’t see it on the footage and the evidence is clearly hearsay. On the day in question, she went a short distance to Tesco to buy groceries. She was driving in her son’s car, an electric car that she didn’t drive often.” It effectively puts your foot on the gas and not the brake.
“It is a very short period of driving. The dangerous driving really happened in a matter of seconds. She is ashamed of herself and sorry. She led a hard-working life and was a valued member of society.”
“After the abusive relationship ended, she turned to alcohol. That clearly led to these crimes. She took steps to address that problem and was abstinent for a while. She told me she hadn’t been drinking lately.” three weeks.
“It’s an isolated offense. There’s very little risk of re-conviction in my opinion.”
Poingdestre admitted dangerous driving and drink driving. She was given an eight-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months, 100 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days, as well as a three-year road ban.
Sentencing Recorder Peter Cowan said: “You made an extraordinary decision to drive when you were three times over the legal limit which had the foreseeable consequence of crashing into the front of a Tesco Express causing £26,000 worth of damage and no doubt horrifying members. staff and the public with the force of this impact Make no mistake if you killed someone you would go to prison for many years.
“It was luck and not judgment that avoided this outcome. It is obvious that you are an alcoholic. You have taken steps to address this. You are on the right track.”
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