A woman who downed vodka then flipped her car over a roundabout and onto its roof while her toddler was seated in the back has been jailed.
Tania Chikwature, 32, was more than three times over the drink-drive limit when she lost control of her Nissan Qashqai while driving to a wake.
She overtook a lorry on a roundabout approach, and her vehicle hit a concrete island and was launched 14 foot into the air before landing on its roof, Peterborough Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday.
Her 20-month-old son was in the back of the car at the time and was unhurt but shocked. Chikwature sustained unspecific injuries.
Chikwature admitted drink-driving and dangerous driving at an earlier hearing, and she was sentenced to 26 weeks, with a three-year driving ban.
District judge Ken Sheraton said: “It’s only by luck and certainly by no judgment of yours that you’re not here today facing far more serious charges, and you’re fortunate that somebody didn’t die in that accident.”
The entire incident was captured in dramatic dash cam footage.
PC David Tudman, from the Beds, Cambs and Herts Road Policing Unit (RPU), said: “Chikwature showed complete disregard for the safety and welfare of her child and other road users in her manner of driving. It is pure luck that nobody was killed that day.
“This should serve as a warning to all motorists to highlight the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol; and to do so whilst in charge of a child is utterly irresponsible.”-ITV