Illawarra mother sentenced for mid-range drink driving with young kids in the car

The 33-year-old university student pleaded guilty to mid-range drink driving at Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday.

Magistrate Gabriel Fleming fined the woman $600 for her "selfish" actions and disqualified her from driving for four months.

"The community is not going to put up with you getting in the car after you've been drinking. Why? Because you could kill yourself, kill other drivers, or kill their children," Magistrate Fleming said.

"Having children in the car is an aggravating feature because they can't choose to be in that car. It's appalling."

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Tendered court documents revealed the woman caught the attention of patrolling officers after she ran a red light in front of them about 8.30pm on February 23 at Tarrawanna Road, Corrimal.

Officers pulled the woman over and noted there was a man in the front passenger seat, and her two children, in the back seat.

The woman was breath tested and returned a positive result of 0.084, telling police she drank four full-strength schooners of beer at Woonona Bulli RSL Club about four hours earlier. She was arrested at the scene and taken to Corrimal police station.

In court on Tuesday, defence lawyer Emel Ozer said her client was remorseful and that she was driving due to her partner having a broken foot.

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Ms Ozer added the woman faced extra-curial punishment as the immediate suspension of her licence has left her without work.

Magistrate Fleming said the woman's offending showed she hadn't learnt her lesson since her last mid-range drink driving conviction six years ago.

The woman was also ordered to have a mandatory interlock device in her vehicle for 12 months after her disqualification period.

Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.