Woman sentenced for drunk driving with kids in car

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A woman who drove while almost four times over the breath-alcohol limit with two small children in the car has been fined $1300 and disqualified from holding or obtaining a drivers licence for 14 months.

Kylie Jean Antunovich, 29, pleaded guilty to the excess breath-alcohol charge when she appeared at Auckland District Court in February.

The court heard her breath-alcohol level was 1568 micrograms per litre of breath when she was tested on December 30. The legal limit is 400mcg.

A concerned motorist had followed Antunovich to a property at Riverhead and called police, telling officers there were two young children in the car.

In Auckland District Court today, Antunovich's lawyer Martin Hislop said his client had completed an eight-week rehabilitation programme at the Higher Ground centre. Sentencing had been postponed until the completion of her rehab treatment.

Antunovich was now voluntarily completing the Wings Trust training programme and had been living at the abstinence based residential support centre since June 30.

She had also voluntarily become an Alcoholics Anonymous member, Mr Hislop said.

She had also abstained from alcohol and not driven since the date of her arrest in December, he said.

"She does not intend to drive for quite some time....this woman has done everything she could have done in turning the clock around."

A source told the New Zealand Herald earlier that Antunovich said at the time she had consumed half a litre of vodka shortly before driving.

Waitemata road policing manager Inspector Mark Fergus said at the time Antunovich was "seen to be swerving into other lanes and driving off the shoulder of the road".

Community Magistrate Janet Holmes today said Antunovich's 1568mg breath alcohol reading was "very near four times the adult legal limit".

The reading was "possibly one of the highest levels ever recorded". Antunovich put not just herself, but everyone on the road at risk at the time of her offending, she said.

Community Magistrate Holmes fined Antunovich $1300 and disqualified her from holding or obtaining a drivers licence for 14 months, "partially because it is your first conviction, but also because you're going to have to focus on your continued recovery."