Kilkenny court hands down jail sentence for driving with ‘staggeringly high’ alcohol level

A “staggeringly high” level of alcohol was detected in the breath of a driver who twice tried to evade arrest following a car accident.

Kilkenny District Court heard that Andreia Dos Santos Araujo, Barrack Lane, Kilkenny, was pleading guilty to charges including drink driving, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence, following an incident on February 7 last.

Garda Aoife Doyle gave evidence that she attended a call following a crash on Bishop’s Hill, Kilkenny, at about 9.30pm on that date.

Driver of the car, Ms Dos Santos Araujo, had fled the scene. Garda Doyle saw her, followed and caught her. She tried to flee again as the garda was arresting her.

Ms Dos Santos Araujo was known to the garda, who knew she was disqualified from driving.
She was cautioned and then informed the garda she had a fight with her husband, was scared and drove.

Ms Dos Santos Araujo was arrested for drink driving and taken to Kilkenny Garda Station.
A breath sample was provided at the station, showing a level of 94mcg of alcohol per 100mls of breath.

Garda Doyle said Ms Dos Santos Araujo had driven from the direction of the army barracks, across Green’s Bridge and on to Vicar Street, where she turned right then collided with the wall.

There was a witness to all this, the garda said.

There were 16 previous convictions recorded against the defendant, including three for drink driving and six for driving without insurance.

Inspector Barry Smith confirmed those previous convictions included an occasion when Ms Dos Santos Araujo was convicted of driving without insurance in court and within an hour of leaving court was apprehended again after a garda watched her drive away from court.

Garda Doyle agreed with solicitor Ed Hughes that Ms Dos Santos Araujo was ‘erratic’ in her interactions but was pleasant thereafter.

The defendant has alcohol dependency issues, the solicitor said. His client’s vehicle was substantially damaged in the incident but, luckily, there was no third party involved, Mr Hughes said.

Ms Dos Santos Araujo has lived in Ireland since 2011 and has a mother and daughter in Brazil. She started a business here that was going well. However after a ‘rough’ divorce ended up in debt she developed a significant alcohol dependency. She was not doing it on purpose.

Mr Hughes said his client was under severe pressure which is why she kept getting back into her vehicle. She has not replaced her car so cannot drive now.

Judge Geraldine Carthy noted the level of alcohol in Ms Dos Santos Araujo’s system was “staggeringly high.”
Getting behind the wheel not only put herself at risk but other road users, the judge said, adding that the defendant has a dependency that has to be addressed.

Stark
The judge said Ms Dos Santos Araujo’s previous convictions were “quite stark.”
Referring to the charge of driving without insurance, Judge Carthy said the defendant had been given ‘numerous opportunities’ and she was satisfied it would not be appropriate to impose a suspended sentence, as a lesson had not been learned.

For driving without insurance, a sentence of five months imprisonment was handed down, with a driving disqualification of 10 years.
Convicting Ms Dos Santos Araujo of drink driving, a sentence of five months in prison was imposed and a disqualification of six years, to run concurrently.

Charges of dangerous driving and driving without a licence were taken into consideration.
Recognisance was set in the event of an appeal, which Mr Hughes said would be taken up immediately.