An Inverurie mum who was spotted slumped over the wheel of her SUV was later tested and found to be 16 times the cocaine limit.
Jill Williams, 42, was upset and “having a stressful time” because her husband couldn’t return home from Dubai due to Covid-19, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
After being alerted by concerned members of the public, police discovered her incapacitated and slurring in the front seat of her Nissan Qashqai.
Fiscal depute Emma Petersen said on the afternoon of October 1 2020 police were contacted in relation to Williams being spotted slumped behind the wheel of the vehicle at Highclere Business Park, Inverurie.
“Police attended and were told by witnesses the accused was in the vehicle and had attempted to leave by reversing out of the parking bay,” Ms Petersen said.
“The officers went and spoke to the accused, who was upset and slurring her words.
“She was identified as the driver and a roadside test showed positive for cocaine.”
A subsequent blood test found 800mcg of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, per litre of blood in Williams’s system. The legal limit is 50mcg.
Williams, a mum-of-two, pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle while having a metabolite of cocaine in her system.
Defence agent Mike Monro told the court that his client had been having “a stressful time” when she was arrested as her husband was in Dubai and was struggling to get home.
“She had reverted back to taking drugs, despite her children and her father helping her by staying home during this period,” he said.
“She had got into a very distressed state and was seen in the car in the driver’s seat.
“Mrs Williams tried to reverse and got nowhere fast and then stopped.
“She then went into a shop in the business park, spoke to someone there and they contacted the police.”
Describing William’s result as a “significant reading”, Sheriff Nigel Cooke fined Willams, of Cairn Seat, Inverurie, £604 and disqualified her from driving for 12 months.
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