Police saved a woman from potentially "going over a cliff" by blocking her car with theirs when she ran out of petrol escaping them and began rolling backwards down a hill.
Rangimarie Leslie Smith, 29, failed to stop for police on January 22 in Napier and sped off up the Gentle Annie road between Napier and Taihape.
Police had to abandon the chase due to dangerous speeds, but another patrol car picked up the chase when Smith reached the other side.
"The inevitable happened and you ran out of petrol," said Judge Dugald Matheson in Whanganui District Court on Tuesday.
"Your car started going backwards down the hill and but for the police putting their vehicle in front of you, the vehicle you were driving may have ended up going over a cliff," he said.
Judge Matheson said that while she was driving over the Gentle Annie, "you were certainly not driving in a gentle way".
Smith was in court on charges of failing to stop, driving dangerously, unlicensed driving, and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle.
Defence layer Anna Brosnahan acting on instruction from Richard Leith said the car had not been taken unlawfully, it was a friend's car Smith had borrowed and failed to return when she said she would.
Smith was also in for four theft charges which happened on January 21 and were spread between Taupo, Napier, and Hastings, totalling $1564.51.
Smith first drove to a Z petrol station in Taupo and took $60 of petrol without paying before heading to Hastings to "pillage" the Warehouse, said Judge Matheson.
She stole bedding and a 39-inch television at a price of $1142.47 before continuing on to Napier where she stole miscellaneous items from the Countdown supermarket to the tune of $302.04.
Judge Matheson said that somewhere in the process Smith also helped herself to another $60 of petrol from a service station in Hastings.
"All the time in the vehicle of your mate," he said. There was also a handful of charges carried over from Rotorua to do with breaching supervision and community work.
Judge Matheson said Smith had previous convictions from Christmas on drugs charges, speaking threateningly, and failing to appear in court.
She had at least 15 convictions on dishonesty charges such as burglary and aggravated robbery.
"You have a lengthy history of offending and it's time you were taken into account," he said.
"Your life has been a mess."
He sentenced Smith to a total of 12 months' disqualification from driving for the dangerous driving and failing to stop charges, and ordered her to pay reparation for the damage to the police vehicle.
For her theft charges she was given four months' imprisonment, and previous community work hours given to her were changed to two weeks in prison.