Dunedin mother five times over the limit crashes car with twins in the back

A St Clair, Dunedin, mother, driving with her young twins in the rear of her car, smashed into a parked ute after drinking two bottles of wine.

Nicola Mary Clydesdale, 40, was driving with a blood alcohol level more than five times the legal limit when she crashed into the parked ute in Ings Ave in August.

The woman, who court documents listed as a nurse, admitted one count of driving with excess blood alcohol and one count of dangerous driving when she appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.

In sentencing Clydesdale to community work, Judge Michael Crosbie said she was lucky not to have killed someone.

"You were drunk as a skunk," he said.

"You should be grateful that someone in your family isn't attending a funeral for one, if not all, of you because that's the risk you took."

Clydesdale admitted drinking two bottles of wine before the crash on August 10.

"The defendant had been drinking alcohol at an associate's address on Coughtrey St," the summary of facts said.

"She left the associate's address in her mother's vehicle with her 8-year-old twins in the back seat.

"She drove on to Pretoria Ave from Ings Ave where she crashed into a ute parked on the left-hand side of the road."

A resident of the street called police.

When speaking to officers Clydesdale "exhibited signs of recent alcohol intake".

"She was unsteady on her feet and her speech was slurred," the summary said.

She failed a roadside breath test and was taken to Dunedin Central Police Station where she recorded an evidential blood alcohol level of 269mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood - more than five times the legal limit of 50mg and three times the level for criminal prosecution.

Defence counsel Steve Turner said Clydesdale had issues with alcohol, but had taken steps to address them.

She had not previously appeared before the courts.

Judge Turner sentenced Clydesdale to 180 hours of community work, nine months' supervision and disqualified her from driving for nine months.

She was ordered to pay $222.05 analyst fees and medical costs.