Drink-driving mother wants to thank trucker

Pat Ratu

The woman who drove drunk for hundreds of kilometres between Waiuku and Awakino with her 2-year-old in the passenger seat says she wants to publicly thank the truck driver who forced her off the road.

The mother appeared yesterday in the Te Kuiti District Court and pleaded guilty to the charge of drink-driving.

She was granted interim name suppression until her sentencing on Tuesday.

The woman arrived at court with the support of a friend, the pair briskly making their way through a waiting media scrum without word.

However, she told the Herald earlier this week that she was sorry for her act of stupidity. She did not want to reveal the circumstances behind her early-evening binge session, nor where she was heading when she was forced to pull over.

Truck driver Pat Ratu was labelled a hero for passing the woman and deliberately jack-knifing his vehicle, making her stop before she reached the Awakino gorge.

Otorohanga police constable Kent Morrissey said a number of opened wine bottles were found in the car.

Another police spokesperson said the woman had blown 1066 micrograms per litre of breath, almost three times the legal limit of 400 micrograms.

"I just wish to publicly thank the truck driver," the woman said after her two-minute court appearance. "If you have his name and address, could you let me know because I want to write a letter to him and thank him."

She also wanted to "tell people not to drink and drive, particularly with children [in the car], or you'll end up like me," referring to the amount of media scrutiny she had come under.

Earlier this week the woman told the Herald she was wary of talking to the media because she did not wish to be made an example of.

The impending fine worried her because she already struggled to make ends meet.

She said it did not matter to her what other people thought of her. She was mainly worried about "the stick" her three older children would get at school, saying they were innocent victims of her stupidity.

The woman also said she had no idea how far over the alcohol limit she had been during her journey south, otherwise she would never have taken the wheel. She said there were "apparently" several narrow misses. She did not wish to comment further, preferring to wait until the court process was over.

Police said last week that the woman had left Waiuku and was bound for Hamilton. She became disoriented during the trip and had driven more than 90 minutes past her intended destination.

In court, duty solicitor David Allan told registrar Adrianne Black that the charge was the woman's first offence.