Drink driving mother blamed crying baby on her conviction

A businesswoman caught drink driving during a night out with her PA tried to wriggle out of a road ban by claiming she was suffering a bout of ‘separation anxiety’ after leaving her 12-month-old son with his grandmother.

Mother of two Elizabeth Prince, 29, who had been drinking wine, claimed she only jumped behind the wheel of Fiat 500 and drove home at 1am after she was overwhelmed by a PTSD-fuelled ‘trigger’ caused by her hearing the youngster crying during a late night check call.

Police stopped her shortly afterwards when a patrolman saw her speeding and ‘weaving’ around the carriageway with her car juddering as if it was in the wrong gear.

Prince was said to be slurring her words and smelling of alcohol with tests showing she had 51 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Elizabeth Prince, pictured, claimed she was triggered after hearing her 12-month-old son cry on the phone which was the reason she drove home almost twice the legal drink-drive limit

Prince, pictured, said she could not call a taxi to bring her home because the country was on lockdown

Tameside Magistrates’ Court heard Prince, from Kearsley, near Bolton, Greater Manchester admitted drink driving but asked for leniency to avoid a ban because of ‘special reasons’

At Tameside magistrates court, Prince, from Kearsley near Bolton, Greater Manchester, who runs a tattoo parlour admitted drink driving but asked to be spared disqualification due to ‘special reasons.’ JPs refused and banned her from driving for 14 months.

The incident occurred on January 31 last year during lockdown after Prince had asked her mother to look after her baby whilst she met her PA who was in her ‘social bubble.’ During the evening at the PA’s house the pair drank wine but trouble began when Prince who also has a daughter aged nine fielded a phone call from her mother Joanne who said she was struggling to get the baby settled.

Prince told the hearing: ‘When he cries, that is my trigger and I cannot be apart from him. I had been in a violent and abusive relationship and the violence took place in the presence of both of my children and I was in between it all.

‘As a result of that, it caused me to suffer from mental health problems including anxiety and PTSD. When I was assaulted during my relationship, my boy was dropped and it made him cry and I now have separation anxiety.

‘That night my mum offered to have him so I could go to my friend’s home as she is also my PA for my tattoo business. I had done that in the past as I was confident enough in my mothering ability to entrust that care with my mum..

‘I had some wine but my mum then rang me to say she was unable to settle him. He was crying, I could hear him in the background and and I just got into the car because I just wanted to get back.

‘I do not think clearly when he cries – I just react and it is something that is ongoing. My anxiety was sky high and triggered my PTSD and I was going to drive to my mum’s.

‘I did tell the officer I was going to go to my mum’s house and I said to ring her and that I was going to my child. I remember the officer saying they may not keep me too long but they held me for quite a while.’

The court heard that Prince made no effort to call a taxi to take her home instead of driving

Police said Prince was seen driving her Fiat 500 in a dangerous manner, swerving across the road while the car was juddering as if it was travelling too slow in a high gear

When quizzed as to why she did not call a taxi, Prince said: ‘I did not think of a sensible option because in that moment, I was hearing my son cry and that was my trigger. Also in lockdown, I cannot imagine how long I would have waited for a cab.

‘When I have rang for taxis in the past, I have waited a long time. I just did not think, I just panicked and went to go and get my son from my mum’s house.’

Her mother Joanne Prince said: ‘I called my daughter because I could not settle my grandson down. He was quite distressed and poorly so I called my daughter.

‘He had not been that distressed previously but he has quite bad anxiety when she leaves him and on this occasion he had been in distress for about one hour or so and I needed to get hold of my daughter.’

But police patrolman PC Thomas Needham told the JPs: ‘Miss Prince did not say why she was making that journey and I was not aware of any emergency she was attending to. She said she had two children, one age one and the other age nine but gave no other information at that point.

‘I only became aware of Miss Prince because she was driving over the speed limit. The car juddered violently as if she was in the wrong gear, she was not keeping to any lane and was concerned about her moving between the lanes. I was concerned that she potentially impaired by drink or drugs and caused her to stop.

‘I was present through at the scene and then at the police station. She was co-operative, talkative and in good spirits, she smelt of alcohol and had slightly slurred speech. I cannot remember her saying she needed to get home to her son but it is possible she said that.’

Prince’s lawyer Kevin Batch said there was ‘no Steve McQueen in the Towering Inferno playing the hero to save the day’ and that is why she ‘needed to get home’

Mr Batch said: ‘Let’s not forget, we were in the middle of the pandemic, taxis were hard to come by and you have to consider the back story’

The court heard Prince had previously been in an abusive relationship with a former partner

Prosecuting Arshad Khan told the JPs: ‘She never even attempted to ring for a taxi. Was this such a crisis that the only option was to get into a car and drive to her child when it’s grandmother had looked after the child on previous occasions? If the defendant had gone on a night out and had alcohol, surely she would have taken steps to book a taxi because that is the sensible option.’

But Prince’s lawyer Kevin Batch said: ‘Those who have children will know that they cry, it is what children do. Sometimes they cry for a while and they can be appeased in a normal household and that works – but this was not a normal situation.

‘In an emergency, people do not think clearly and there is no Steve McQueen in the Towering Inferno playing the hero who saves the day. As far as this young woman is concerned, after all she has been through, this was an a real life emergency and she needed to get home.

‘Let’s not forget, we were in the middle of the pandemic, taxis were hard to come by and you have to consider the back story. Everything about this case says emergency. It was possible she needed to get home to her child, which is all consistent with an emergency scenario.’

Chairman of the bench Andrew Sokill said: ‘We had to consider whether there was reasons for an emergency but we have come to the conclusion on the balance of probabilities there were no compelling reasons for you to drive and there were other options on the night.’

Prince was also fined £350 and ordered to pay £535 in costs and surcharges.