Drunk-driver who fled crash told police ‘I am f----d'
Chanelle Powell, 32, was found to be double the legal alcohol limit when she wrote off a parked car and crashed into another while driving her Vauxhall Astra.
She was collected by her mother and stepfather moments after the crash on June 23 and quickly departed the crash scene.
Police stopped the vehicle after reports from witnesses, at which point Powell broke down and repeatedly said: 'I am f----d'.
Powell was sentenced to a 16-month driving ban at Chester magistrates' court after she pleaded guilty to drink-driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. She was also handed a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work.
Powell insisted that her mother and stepfather had coincidentally been passing by the accident and picked her up to ''comfort her'' but a judge ruled she fled the area in the knowledge she would be breathalysed.
The crash occurred when Powell, who had been drinking beer as she was 'stressed', lost control of her car on Station Road in Little Sutton, Cheshire, and crashed into a parked car while on her way to see her boyfriend.
Michelle Dodd, prosecuting, said: 'That vehicle was shunted into a BMW and then to a near 90-degree angle to a wall. It was left with a wheel hanging off and was a write-off with damage of upwards of £6,000.
'The BMW sustained £500 worth of damage whilst the Astra had severe damage to the left front side wheel, which was also hanging off.
'Officers arrived at the scene and a number of members of the public immediately told the officer that the female driver responsible was clearly intoxicated and had fled the scene in another vehicle, a Vauxhall van.
'This vehicle was quickly located close by and stopped, the female driver being in the passenger seat. When the driver was being questioned, the defendant looked uncomfortable and stated 'I am f----d' multiple times.
'There was a positive roadside breath sample, and she was taken into custody.
Tests showed Powell had had 79 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit being 35mg.
'A lapse of judgment'
A probation officer told the court: ''She had been working from home on the day of the incident and after work, she had consumed three or four beers. She had been stressed due to a hospital appointment and was using alcohol as a coping mechanism.
They added that Powell recognised 'it was wrong' to drive, and said it 'was clearly a lapse in judgment'.
District Judge Jack McGarva told her: 'This was a serious situation where substantial damage was caused to a number of vehicles and you then fled the scene.
'I am quite certain you fled the scene because you knew you would fail a breath test. I say that because of what you said to the police when they caught up with you. ''
He added: ''You clearly did represent a danger to other road users on that evening.'
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