A DRINK driver was lucky when her car ended up on a railway line and the train stopped just 30 metres away, town magistrates heard today (Wednesday).
Rosie Hannah Webb, of Gorse Road, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty at Redditch Magistrates’ Court to driving in Wythall while twice the legal alcohol limit with a reading of 87 microgrammes in her breath.
Mark Soper, prosecuting, told the court the 20-year-old had been having a meal out with her boyfriend on October 6, and drank three glasses of wine. They returned to his home and got into an argument and he asked her to leave. She told him she had been drinking but he insisted she go, so she drove towards Norton Road where she lost control of the vehicle.
Mr Soper said: “Her car left the road and went down the embankment onto the railway line. The vehicle ended up about a foot from the train line.
“A local resident came to her assistance and took her to his home and the police were called.”
Defence solicitor, Jason Battell, said: “There was never any intention to drive. She tried to tell her boyfriend she had obviously been drinking.
“The situation gave her no other choice but to drive. The road conditions were wet. The road has a sweeping bend and as she has approached that bend she went straight off.
“She is very thankful that neither she nor anyone else was hurt. She is also grateful the train driver was alert enough to stopped 30 to 40metres up the track.”
Chair of the bench, Jill Gramman, fined Webb £300 and disqualified her from driving for 18 months. Magistrates also ordered her to pay £135 in prosecution costs, a £30 victim surcharge and £150 court charge.
