Dunedin mother caught driving four times over legal limit with daughter in car

The woman had been charged with drink driving, careless driving and failing to protect a child under 18.
The woman had been charged with drink driving, careless driving and failing to protect a child under 18. Photo credit: File

By RNZ

A Dunedin woman, who was more than four times the drink driving limit, crashed her car into a traffic island after driving from Christchurch to her home with her 11-year-old daughter.

The 39-year-old had been charged with drink driving, careless driving and failing to protect a child under 18.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said the woman had been drinking wine in Christchurch before leaving for Dunedin.

She had spent the weekend in the garden city for her daughter's gymnastics tournament.

The woman allegedly crashed into a traffic island less than a kilometre from her Dunedin home about 1:30am on Monday morning after making the 360km journey from Christchurch, Bond said.

The woman and her daughter got out of the vehicle and began walking home.

Police officers located them a couple hundred metres from the crash and the woman recorded a breath-alcohol level of 1191 micrograms per litre of breath - more than four times the legal limit of 250mg.

She had been summonsed to appear in court and her driver's licence was suspended.