A terminally ill Warrawong woman jailed in Port Kembla court last week for drink-driving has been released from custody on unconditional bail pending her District Court appeal.
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Mary Elizabeth Faulkner, 51, was given just 16 months to live after doctors discovered in April she had cancer throughout her body, prompted by abnormal results from a blood test carried out when she was involved in a accident at Unanderra while dangerously drunk behind the wheel last December.
The drink-driving charge - the ninth on Faulkner's record - came on the back of her having a disqualified driver's licence and being on a 12-month suspended sentence for a previous drink-driving charge in February last year.
Defence lawyer Matthew Ward sought a home detention assessment for his client, however it was rejected by Magistrate Michael Stoddart, who, although sympathetic of Faulkner's ill-health, said the community needed to be protected from people who broke the law, saying Faulkner's traffic record was one of the worst he had seen.
Faulkner lodged an appeal and applied for bail but it was refused, prompting Mr Ward to seek bail for his client in the NSW District Court on Wednesday. Presiding Judge Paul Conlon agreed to release Faulkner and ordered she be assessed for home detention.
