Two bingo lovers from Sunderland failed a roadside breath-test after a night of bingo. In a surprising twist, both females had gone home in a taxi, so what happened for them both to receive drunk driving charges? On September 24th, on-duty police patrol officers spotted a Vauxhall Corsa pull over and the two women swapped seats; the driver now became the passenger and vice-versa.
It was 3:30am when the unusual event took place, so the officers pulled the car over at the side of the road. Both were asked to provide a breath specimen and both failed.
Codie Osmond, 23, of Newstead Court, Washington, and Claire Louise Lumley, 34, of Kirklea Road, Houghton had been to bingo that evening and from there, the evening spiralled out of control.
Don’t Collect £200 – Go Directly to Jail
The duo had been to Bounce Bingo (aka Mecca Bingo in Sunderland), a popular bingo establishment offering 90-ball bingo games and casino games as well as food and alcoholic beverages. At the end of the evening, they got a taxi to Louise’s home before going to bed. During the night, the pair allege that Codie fell ill, and Louise offered to take her home.
Mr Paul Anderson, prosecutor, read the statement from Louise to the court:
“I went to take Codie home, but I felt a bit dizzy, so pulled over and Codie continued to drive to her home.”
Defending Louise, Susan Grey stated:
“Her friend wasn’t feeling too well, and she offered to take her home. She herself started to feel ill and her friend took over the driving. Because of the mistake she made that night she is going to find herself in great difficulty. She has just started employment as a carer and in that employment she would be expected to utilise a vehicle at work and drive around, that is not going to be the case now.”
Don’t Drink Daub and Drive!
Michelle Stonley tried to defend her client Codie by pleading with the courts:
“This was an isolated incident and one that will not be repeated again by Ms Osmond. She is extremely ashamed and embarrassed about being in the court and she said being at the police station and here in the court has been the worst experience of her life, one which she doesn’t want to repeat. She pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and was very compliant with the police.”
The judge ruled Codie Osmond guilty of drunk driving and driving without insurance and banned her from driving for 16-months, fined her £250 and ordered her to pay two charges: £85 in costs and £32 in a victim surcharge. Louise Lumley was also deemed guilty and banned from driving, however for an extended period of 36-months, ordered to pay £120 in fines, £85 in costs and a £32 victim surcharge.
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Comments (1)
Bubles12
10/24/19, 01:10:57 PM
Strange how one had a lengthier ban than the other when both were driving. And even weirder is that Codie had no insurance either yet was only banned for 16-month and Louise had insurance and was banned for 36-months! Puzzling to say the least.
