Drug driver, 40, who was at least eight times the limit on Monday morning commute three DAYS after cocaine binge is banned from the roads for one year
- A woman was found to be eight times over drug drive limit on her way to work
- Emma Tutill, 40, was pulled over by police in Liverpool in December 2021
- The police’s drug testing machine maxed out and showed heavy cocaine use
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A company buyer who tested eight times over the drug drive limit three days after she went on a massive cocaine and alcohol binge has been banned from driving for a year.
Emma Tutill, 40, was stopped by police in Liverpool after she was seen driving her Vauxhall Astra at excessive speed on Regent Road, Liverpool at 9.20am on December 13 of last year.
The police’s drug testing machine maxed out when testing her, showing she had 400 micrograms of Benzoylecgonine, a compound that appears after cocaine use, per litre of blood in her system.
A court heard Tutill’s reading would have been even higher but the machine had reached its top level. The legal limit is 50mcg.
Tutill, of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, later said she had been on an an alcohol and cocaine binge the previous Friday because it was the fifth anniversary of her father’s death from cancer and the third anniversary of her brother’s passing through suicide.
At Sefton magistrates court Tutill who admitted drug driving faced losing her job at ERIKS after she was fined £200 and banned from the roads for 12 months.
She had initially denied the charge and planned to challenge the results of the blood test.
Emma Tutill, 40, a company buyer tested at least eight times the drug drive limit when she got behind the wheel of her car in Liverpool last year
At Sefton magistrates court Tutill admitted drug driving and was fined £200 and banned from the roads for 12 months
She claimed she had spent the entire weekend in bed following the binge and did not realise she was still not fit to drive the following Monday.
Callum Bryce, prosecuting, said that she had attracted the attention of a mobile police officer when she was driving her Vauxhall Astra on Regent Road in Liverpool at 9.20am on December 13 of last year.
‘Police were driving in the opposite direction and it was believed she was driving at excess speed,’ he said. ‘There were no other concerns about the manner of her driving but when she was stopped by the officer, she was slow to answer questions.
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‘She was dazed and her eyes were bloodshot. She appeared to be under the influence of drugs.’
Mr Bryce said that after a sample of saliva was taken, she failed a roadside drug test and was taken to the police station for a blood test. Tutill who is thought to work for an energy company had no previous convictions.
Her lawyer Mr Baljit Singh said: ‘This all started a number of years ago when her father passed away from cancer and a couple of years thereafter around the same date, her brother committed suicide from depression.
‘Three days prior to this incident, and the anniversary of her brother’s death, Miss Tutill consumed a large amount of alcohol. On the same date she confirmed that she consumed cocaine and that was a Friday.
‘She was in bed all day Saturday and Sunday, before being required to go to work on Monday which is the offence date. At that time, she believed that she was unimpaired, having spent two days in bed after consuming alcohol and cocaine.
‘She believed she was in position to drive. In fairness to Miss Tutill, the reading is for benzoylecgonine, which is a breakdown compound and the cocaine had already left her system. The level of benzoylecgonine rises quite rapidly as the cocaine is broken down and thereafter it starts to reduce.
‘This is not a situation she has found herself in before. She didn’t know better but knows better in hindsight. This is a lesson learnt.’
Tutill told the court she had spent the entire weekend in bed following the binge and did not realise she was still not fit to drive the following Monday
Tutill consumed a large amount of alcohol and cocaine on the anniversary of her brother’s death
Telling the court that she has attended AA meetings and has been advised about addressing her issues, Mr Singh said that she looks after her mother who has mobility issues.
‘Miss Tutill is on antidepressants and has been since the death of her father several years ago,’ Mr Singh said, ‘In relation to her employment, she is currently training in health and safety on a construction site and goes to college one day a week. She has to be on site and starts at 7am in Manchester each morning.
‘She has not yet informed her employer due to the embarrassment and shame she has felt in omission of the offence. She knows that she is going to lose her employment.’
Tutill was also ordered to pay £1,000 in costs and a £34 victim surcharge. District Judge Wendy Lloyd told her: ‘You had a high reading. I appreciate that this is a breakdown product of cocaine, but they do not even test beyond 400mcg and you got to 400mcg, so it was a high reading.
‘If you had taken cocaine so long before you were tested you must have taken a great deal of it and alcohol too. I understand that you have had difficult personal circumstances but there is no excuse for putting others’ lives and your life at risk if you’re not fully in control of the car.’
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