Too Many Drinks and a Young Lady Launched her Car into the Sea
Imagine driving by Port Hercule and driving into the sea! Although it did happen once at the Grand Prix at racing speeds, it is difficult to justify when you are a normal driver – especially when you are drunk. Fortunately a young lady on a weekend night out did not hurt anybody when she lost control of her four by four. And she can be thankful she did not hurt herself either. She could have drowned but managed to extricate herself from the vehicle and make it to shore. A strange site awaited passers-by on their Monday morning stroll as the vehicle was fished out of the deep. Meanwhile the fireman and police had attended to the young lady and escorted her to hospital to discover, not unexpectedly, high levels of alcohol in her blood. At which point the young lady was charged with negligence for driving dangerously. Drenched with alcohol, drenched with sea water!
Monaco is used to Records, But this one did not Amuse the Court
It’s not a good sign when the reading shows an alcohol level high enough to raise the eye-brows of the police. A record reading could lead to a record sentence for driving under the influence. How many glasses of champagne did it take to get a reading this high? Enough that the lady couldn’t remember. Both her memory and driving reactions had been stultified by alcohol. Luckily the police had intercepted her driving erratically as she attempted to exit a parking lot – which likely prevented a dangerous accident, given the level of her intoxication. The defense lawyer made the best of the situation:
- She was a kind, generous lady who had not counted the glasses of champagne served to her at a charity event,
- a lady with an impeccably clean record; she had never offended in her life,
- the lady was totally humiliated and remorseful after some days of detention; a sobering experience if ever there was one.
The defence argued that the experience in confinement and the accompanying shame had been so traumatizing that the lady would never repeat the offense and had learned her lesson. She was embarrassed for herself and for her husband and daughter, especially being hauled from the cells and on display standing before the Court in handcuffs. Nevertheless, with an alcohol reading at record levels for a lady the Court had to be severe. The judgement? Guilty with a one month suspended jail sentence, loss of driving license for 12 months, a fine of 3.000 euros.
