A Dunedin woman’s 24 hours of driving mayhem were caused by her being "off the rails" on meth, a court has heard.
Christina Marie Durham, 34, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday on nine driving charges and was jailed for 14 months along with a two-year driving ban.
On May 28, the defendant was sentenced for other road crimes and disqualified from driving for a year.
Her abstinence, though, lasted just three days.
On June 1, police received numerous reports about Durham’s driving, from 10.30am when she was seen speeding through Green Island, overtaking on a blind corner.
Later that day, she was seen repeatedly overtaking at 100kmh in a 60kmh zone, weaving through traffic and running red lights.
Despite narrowly evading collisions, Durham was back on the road the following morning, when police were again alerted to her Mazda’s erratic manoeuvreing.
This time the chaos took place in South Dunedin.
Police finally found her turning into Forbury Rd and followed at a distance, attempting to pull her over in Burns St.
Durham accelerated away, reaching 80kmh in residential areas.
The wild ride ended when she again attempted to overtake on a blind corner and lost control, skidding into a stationary Honda.
Durham’s vehicle spun out of control and came to a stop on a footpath.
She fled on foot and was only arrested with the assistance of a police dog unit.
The court heard Durham failed a compulsory impairment test and then refused to provide a blood sample.
Counsel Andy Belcher gave some insight into his client’s state.
"This is a woman who went off the rails from using methamphetamine," he said.
"She’s lost everything."
Mr Belcher told the court Durham was committed to staying clean and developing a relationship with her children.
Judge Hermann Retzlaff acknowledged the defendant had endured trauma during her life, but stressed it did not excuse her offending and the danger she caused.
