County Derry woman who crashed into car was almost five times the legal alcohol limit

A County Derry woman who crashed into another vehicle was found to be almost five times the legal alcohol limit, a local court has heard.

Limavady Magistrates' Court heard that police were called to a report of a road traffic collision in the Shackleton Drive area of Ballykelly at around 8pm on October 19.

The court heard that the reporting person stated that a vehicle being driven by Aoife Connell, of Club Road in Ballykelly, collided with the rear of their vehicle.

Connell got out of her car and exchanged details with the other driver before abandoning her car and entering her nearby home.

The victim told police that she suspected that 34 year-old Connell had consumed alcohol.

Police attended the defendant's address and asked Connell to submit a preliminary breath test which returned a reading of 172mg – 35mg is the legal limit.

Connell's solicitor, Keith Kyle acknowledged that the alcohol reading was 'very high'.

Noting that Connell's reading was 'almost five times the limit', District Judge Peter King disqualified her from driving for four years and fined her £350.