Drink-driving teacher found with bottles of wine in car after violent outburst

An ‘out of control’ drink-driving teacher[1] who flew into a violent rage after hurtling into another car has been banned from the classroom. ‘Shy’ Helena Stanier had been ‘speeding’ on the wrong side of the road moments before she crashed and attempted to reverse away from the scene. Members of the public tried to grab the PE teacher’s car keys in a bid to stop her from escaping but she lashed out – spitting, hitting and kicking her victims. Witnesses described how the ‘aggressive’ 34-year-old even told a taxi driver “I am going to find out where you live and I am going to come and find you” before fleeing on foot.

Police located her nearby and were forced to put a spit hood and ‘rigid’ handcuffs on her but she continued to scream and shout, ‘thrashing about’ on the back seat of the police vehicle ‘in a rage’. Officers discovered two empty bottles of wine and one full bottle of wine in her car. Poll: Should parents be able to take their kids on holiday during term time?[3]

The convict – who was more than double the drink-drive limit – later blamed her actions on her teaching struggles, claiming she could not cope with her workload and ‘unachievable’ GCSE targets. A Teaching Regulation Agency panel has now found Stanier breached teaching standards and that her actions amounted to misconduct. Stanier worked at Cardinal Griffin Catholic College, Cannock[4], between January 1 and August 31, 2021.

She had been ‘driving around a sharp corner’ of Blithbury Road, Rugeley, at ‘excessive speed and on the wrong side of the road’ when she crashed into the front nearside of another car on Monday, July 5, 2021. A report from the panel read: “Whilst waiting for the police to arrive, Stanier started to reverse her vehicle in an attempt to leave the scene. When members of the public attempted to remove her car keys to prevent her leaving the scene, Stanier assaulted one or more of these individuals.

Following the assault, Stanier left the scene of the collision on foot. “Stanier was located a short distance from the scene and was arrested by the police. During the course of her arrest, Stanier assaulted police officers who were acting in the exercise of their functions.”

A breath test showed Stanier had 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35 microgrammes. Witnesses recalled the ordeal, with one saying: “[She displayed] hostile behaviours towards me as she began spitting toward my face. She also attempted to punch and bite me.”

Stanier is said to have approached a taxi driver involved in the collision ‘with a huge amount of aggression’ before ‘leaping’ towards him. She was also ‘hitting and kicking him shouting and screaming’, the witness claimed.

Another said: “I have never in my life witnessed anybody acting with so much aggression, she was completely out of control with the level of violence.” Stanier admitted three counts of assault by beating an emergency worker, one count of driving a motor vehicle with excess alcohol and two counts of battery when she appeared at Staffordshire[5] Magistrates’ Court[6] on July 21, 2021. She was handed a community order, with a 22-month driving ban, an alcohol treatment requirement and a rehabilitation activity requirement.

The teacher was also told to pay up to GBP100 compensation, a GBP95 victim surcharge and GBP135 costs. The panel heard how Stanier showed ‘remorse and regret for her irresponsible and dangerous actions’. She claimed she felt ‘mentally drained’ in the lead-up to her offending.

She could not ‘cope with the amount of marking and after school clubs she was expected to deliver’. The PE department ‘set unachievable GCSE targets’ and she struggled with the behaviour of teenage students because her work experience was cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The drink-driver also said she had ‘poor mentors’, felt ‘stressed’ about applying for permanent teaching roles and had a high workload which stopped her from using support groups.

She did not speak about her difficulties out of fear of being seen as ‘an incapable teacher’, the report read. She had been alcohol-free in the years before the crash. The teacher claimed she is usually ‘passive’ but ‘panicked’ when she was restrained under force – also realising she would be in ‘trouble’ with the school.

She signed off sick from work after the collision and now intends to take on a ‘low-stress sports coaching role’ with children in a leisure centre – where the manager agrees her behaviour was ‘out of character’. The panel also heard how Stanier was involved in another collision before she started teaching.

She crashed into an unattended parked car, failed to stop at the scene and did not report it to police on March 10, 2018. The car she smashed into ‘sustained extensive damage resulting in total loss of the vehicle’.

Stanier admitted driving without due care and attention, failing to give her name and address after an accident and failing to report an accident when she appeared at Staffordshire Magistrates’ Court on June 15, 2018. She was handed a GBP533 fine, her driving licence was endorsed with seven penalty points and she was ordered to pay GBP85 costs and a GBP54 victim surcharge. She was also given seven points on her licence.

Medication she was taking at the time had made her ‘tired and confused’, she claimed. In a letter to the panel, Stanier said she had missed some of her medication, which may have caused ‘poor concentration and confusion’. She also claimed to not have known another vehicle was involved until she was contacted by the police but had ‘no recollection’ of the incident.

The report added: “She stated that she had been open and honest about the March 2018 offences to all relevant parties when starting her teaching career path.” Stanier – who confirmed to the panel she had been convicted of the criminal offences – was made subject to a prohibition order banning her from teaching during a hearing on October 30. It can be reviewed in four years, which is the earliest time she can apply for the order to be set aside. The report read: “The panel noted that the offences had taken place outside of the education setting and had not involved pupils or other members of the school’s staff.”

It continued: “The panel was particularly concerned with the offences of assaulting emergency workers given the often-close working relationship they have with schools and with the level of violence that was involved in these offences.

There was also concern surrounding the impression this type of behaviour could give to pupils.

The panel noted that the behaviour involved in committing the offence could have had an impact on the safety or pupils and members of the public.”

References

1. ^ teacher (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
2. ^ Albanian ‘Scarface gang obsessed with Al Pacino’ flooded streets with drugs wrapped in lottery tickets (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
3. ^ Poll: Should parents be able to take their kids on holiday during term time? (xd.wayin.com)
4. ^ Cannock (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
5. ^ Staffordshire (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
6. ^ Court (www.birminghammail.co.uk)