The same police patrolman who twice caught an air hostess driving under the influence of drugs in a 24-hour period was able to get her out of court with a £369 fine.
After being stopped in her Vauxhall Corsa, 20-year-old Isabelle Peck, who had been sniffing cocaine, tested almost 10 times the legal limit for the drug’s active ingredient Benzoylecgonine (BZE).
Peck picked up her car the next day despite police cautions that the narcotics would persist in her system. She was stopped again as she attempted to drive home by the same officer and tested 16 times the BZE limit.
It’s believed that she stayed at a police station for a total of two nights.
Peck, a Jet2 employee from Northwich, Cheshire, accepted two counts of driving while intoxicated with a controlled substance before Chester Magistrates Court but said she hadn’t used any more cocaine since being arrested.
The second measurement was greater because BZE was present in her blood at larger concentrations when the cocaine left her system.
According to medical professionals, cocaine or its metabolites may persist for up to two days following consumption in a blood or saliva test.
Additionally, it may be detected for up to three days in a urine test and for months or even years in a hair test.
Six months in prison is the maximum penalty for driving under the influence.
Peck was charged with driving on Manchester Road in Lostock on April 27 when his blood contained 486 milligrams of benzoylecgonine (BZE).
According to the second, she had 800 mcg/l of the same substance in her blood on April 28 when she was operating a vehicle on the A556 in Lostock.
After using 50mg of cocaine, driving is permitted.
The defendant was driving a silver Vauxhall Corsa when the police ordered it to halt, according to Georgia Leyland, the prosecutor.
“A roadside drug wipe was performed and was successful.” She was brought into prison and gave a blood sample for examination.
The required limit was exceeded by 486 micrograms of BZE per litre of blood, according to toxicology findings.
The second offense really happened at 7.30 p.m. the next day. The defendant was really seen driving her automobile by the same officer.
The police had advised the defendant to wait longer before getting behind the wheel again the day before due to the narcotics still being in her system.
She didn’t do that, however. She tested positive again during a roadside drug wipe, and she was again brought into custody so that a blood sample could be collected. This measurement for BZE was 800 micrograms, which is over the permitted limit.
Miss Peck has a history of high conduct and has never been convicted of anything.
Peck’s attorney, John Farnan, stated: “The defendant informs me that she agrees that at the time of the first crime, she had used cocaine extremely seldom and recreationally.”
She is well aware that she should have waited longer and asked someone else to pick up her vehicle when she went to pick it up.
She didn’t use cocaine in the meantime. It was still active in her body. While she was driving it back, the cop pulled her stop.
Peck would face the “extra penalty” of having to repeat her driving test when the disqualification was over, according to Mr. Farnan, since she had only passed it in the previous two years.
Since the time of the offense, she has worked as cabin crew for Jet 2, according to Mr. Farnan. They do regular drug tests, and she has not used cocaine while working there.
She hasn’t used cocaine because she has had frequent drug tests,
The legal counsel explained to the judges that benzoylecgonine is a byproduct of the breakdown of cocaine. “Rather than as a result of cocaine usage, it is why the BZE has climbed,” he stated.
If you agree to it, you cannot impose a different punishment for the second offense. Both violations will result in disqualification.
Before restoring Peck’s driving license, the legal counsel said that the DVLA can also want evidence that she is not a drug dependent person.
The judges also mandated that she pay £157 in costs and a victim surcharge, emphasizing that she was not being penalized for the second offense. She was also prohibited from driving for at least a year.
Chairman Andrew Merrill said, “We have heard everything that has been mentioned and taken it on board.”