Suffolk driver went wrong way down A14 near Ipswich
The 59-year-old Allison Lefebvre was described as "heavily intoxicated"[1] at the scene of a crash which occurred shortly before Christmas last year, on December 17 on the A14 at Whitehouse. A driver in her teens was heading towards Ipswich just after 8pm on December 17, meaning that darkness had fallen. The girl arrived at the Sproughton junction at Whitehouse and met a slow-moving lorry in the inside lane and moved to overtake.
However, as she drew level with the lorry, she saw a set of headlights heading straight for her[2]. With nowhere to turn, the teenager had no choice but to swerve for the central reservation in a head-on crash. She could not remember getting out of the car but recalled the smell of smoke and the voice of the lorry driver, who had stopped to help.
In a statement read to Suffolk Magistrates' Court[3], she said: "I feel I'm lucky to be alive." Lefebvre, of Hawksmead, Bicester, Oxfordshire, was the driver of the oncoming vehicle, a white Mini Countryman Cooper. The attending police officers formed the view she was "heavily intoxicated".
A roadside breathe test found she was just shy of three times the alcohol limit. However, she refused to consent to blood samples giving taken in hospital. Previously, Lefebvre pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and failing to provide a sample for analysis.
She appeared to be sentenced on Tuesday and spoke with an American accent. When asked to speak in her own defence, Lefebvre became tearful, saying: "I've never been in trouble in my life." Lefebvre was ordered to pay the girl GBP400 in compensation.
She was sentenced to 12 months in custody, but this was suspended for two years.
She was banned from driving for 28 months, and told that she will have to pass an extended test should she wish to drive again.
References
- ^ described as "heavily intoxicated" (www.ipswichstar.co.uk)
- ^ set of headlights heading straight for her (www.ipswichstar.co.uk)
- ^ Suffolk Magistrates' Court (www.ipswichstar.co.uk)