A WOMAN who crashed her car into a wall and abandoned it in the middle of the road with the engine still running has been warned she could be jailed – and is ‘in a very serious position’.
Danielle Mawson (27) was driving along Grande Route de St Brelade at around 11.30pm on 18 June when her car left the road and hit a wall, the Magistrate’s Court heard.
St Brelade Centenier Amanda Wright said: ‘A vehicle had been left in the road, straddling the white line, and a female had been seen to leave the vehicle by a witness.
‘The engine was still running, the keys were in the ignition and the lights were on.’
Mawson had left the scene but police found a purse containing credit cards bearing her name. However, when they tried to contact her there was no answer.
She was eventually interviewed on 23 June and made ‘no comment’ replies to all questions. But in court yesterday she pleaded guilty to careless driving and failing to report an accident.
Advocate Estelle Burns, defending, said: ‘Her background circumstances are very relevant.’
She subsequently requested a background report.
Magistrate Bridget Shaw agreed, but said: ‘There does seem to have been deliberate evasion of the police.’
And she told Mawson: ‘You are in a very serious position. The court takes this as seriously as drink-driving – and drink-driving is at the top of the scale.
‘The court is considering immediate custody.’
Sentencing was adjourned until 13 December, and Mawson was released on bail.
