Woman driver's blood alcohol level 'five times legal limit'

A Dunedin woman driver's alleged blood alcohol level was more than five times the legal limit - the highest city police can remember and considered enough to kill a person.

The 46-year-old agreed to have the blood test after her roadside breath alcohol test last month was alleged to have exceeded 2000 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, the maximum level the breath-alcohol test is capable of measuring.

That is more than the 1583 micrograms allegedly recorded by Auckland teacher Joanna Winifred Wright which Auckland police said last weekend could be a New Zealand record.

Dunedin police stopped the woman at about 4.30pm on April 21 after a member of the public complained about her driving. Her blood test reading was allegedly 426 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit for an adult is 80mg.

Alcohol Advisory Council chief executive Dr Mike MacAvoy said people could die any time their blood-alcohol level was higher than 400mg. He equated her reading to drinking a bottle of spirits. The woman has been charged with drink-driving and her case has been adjourned until May 12.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES