A young Dundee woman has been banned after flipping her car on an Angus back road when she took to the wheel almost four times the legal limit following a late-night tiff.
Teenager Millie Kell was told by a sheriff she had been lucky to escape serious injury, and fortunate not to have hurt anyone else in the November 8 crash when she stormed out of her partner’s house just before midnight.
The 19-year-old, of Frederick Street in Dundee, said she was going to get a taxi home, but instead got in her car and came to grief on the B961 Monikie to Newbigging road.
She fled the scene after crawling out of the overturned car, but returned soon after and was caught by police who had been called out to investigate the abandoned vehicle – who then discovered the teenager also had cocaine in her handbag.
Depute fiscal Bill Kermode said that Kell mounted a kerb before rolling her car on to its roof.
“Around 11.50pm, a witness contacted police to report that the car was lying on its roof and appeared to be abandoned,” he said.
“Police attended and found the car, with the keys still in the ignition.”
The court heard that although there was no sign of the accused, she returned around 15 minutes later and a roadside breath test proved positive. Her alcohol reading was 85 microgrammes against a legal limit of 22.
It was then that Kell told officers she had the small quantity of cocaine, which the court heard was a fraction of a gramme and of no value.
Defence solicitor Gary Foulis said the incident had been a “salutary lesson” for the teenager.
“She has never come to the attention of the authorities before and she is not likely to come to the attention of the authorities again.
“She understands that she was very fortunate she did not come to serious harm.
“It was a very small amount of cocaine. She tells me that she doesn’t have a difficulty with either the abuse of alcohol or illicit substances.
“She has no desire to be in front of the courts again,” said the solicitor.
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown told Kell: “It seems that you yourself were very fortunate not to come to any harm, but you appreciate that you could have harmed someone else.”
She fined Kell £335 and banned her for a year on the drink-driving charge.
The accused was admonished on the drugs matter.
