A WOMAN with end-stage liver failure who reported herself for driving close to five times the legal limit on a "bottle shop run" was sentenced to an intensive correction order yesterday.
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Suzette Pengelly, 40, faced eight charges in the Mount Isa Magistrates Court yesterday for the incident on April 16, where she drove an uninsured and unregistered car with a disqualified licence while she had a blood alcohol concentration of .286.
The court heard Pengelly had driven to a Mount Isa bottle shop under pressure from her friends to get more alcohol at around 10pm and had then driven herself to the Mount Isa Hospital, telling staff to take away her keys.
Hospital staff called police who found the woman had been drinking since 10am, had a strong smell of liquor and bloodshot eyes when they interviewed her.
Her alcohol concentration was tested again later by police at 11.54pm where she recorded a reading of .230 and was subsequently charged with one count each of driving uninsured, unregistered, with a disqualified licence and under the influence of liquor.
Pengelly's keys were then returned to her by hospital staff and she drove home still intoxicated before she called police to report herself a second time. She was charged with another count of all four offences.
Legal Aid solicitor Mark Boreham told the court his client had a range of medical issues which included end-stage liver failure and nerve problems in her legs and had a long history of alcohol and drug abuse and rehabilitation.
He said it was likely Pengelly's liver condition had an impact on her high alcohol reading and she had been pressured to drive by her friends.
Magistrate Rod Madsen told Pengelly she needed to change her pattern of alcohol consumption and find a way to distract herself from the community's drinking culture.
He sentenced the woman to an intensive correction order to be completed over 12 months, but said she would need to discuss an alternative to the community service aspect of the order as her medical condition restricted her ability to complete the work.
Mr Madsen then ordered Pengelly complete a two-year probation order on top of the correction order to allow for continued support after her intensive sentence.
He fined her $240 for driving unregistered and $440 for driving uninsured and disqualified her from driving for a total period of four years.
