A court heard that a drunken estate agent who was driving her Mercedes into a bus stop while above the legal limit then attempted to run from the police on foot.
Kirsty Ogden, 30, was told yesterday that it was a miracle no one was wounded after she consumed “three or four” beers at a work-related goodbye party before getting behind the wheel.
She made an appearance in the south London Bromley Magistrates’ Court where she entered a plea of guilty to operating the white Mercedes on Charlton Park Road on July 15 whilst having a blood alcohol level over the legal limit.
“You were very lucky there wasn’t anyone standing in the line at that bus stop,” Magistrate Timothy Nathan remarked.
“God forbid, had somebody been maimed or even killed, then you may have gone to prison for many years.”
Ogden, of Vallance House, Callis Close, Woolwich, was sentenced to a 22-month driving restriction, a £300 fine, a £120 victim surcharge, and £85 in costs.
She also wants to lose her employment at “one of the most profitable branches in the country.”
The legal limit for driving is 35 micrograms per 100 milliliters of breath, but Ogden had 78 micrograms of alcohol in that amount.
Ogden attempted to flee when police came, according to prosecutor Dwain Coward, which magistrate Mr. Nathan called an “aggravating circumstance.”
Police were notified by an informant that a car had smashed into a bus stop and that the female driver had left and was now walking away, according to Mr Coward.
“The witness reported that the female was on a cell phone and was requesting assistance from whoever she was speaking to.
“As the police scoured the area on foot, they spotted the defendant moving toward them.”
She started to flee when she noticed the police, but she was pursued and caught. When she was taken into custody, she acknowledged to driving the car and crashing it.
According to Ogden’s attorney Michael Gallagher, she claims to have been intoxicated at a Blackheath parting party for a member of her office staff.
Despite the fact that she hadn’t eaten all day, she had three or four beers and felt OK to drive. However, she underestimated the distance and clipped the curb and hit the bus stop.
She claims that while talking on the phone, she was pacing back and forth and turning in circles.
She was crying, worried, scared, lost, and asking for help, according to the cops.
She admits to having four drinks and being the driver after returning to the scene and denying that she fled from the police.
She moved to London five years ago without the backing of her family following an abusive relationship, and up until Covid decimated the hotel sector, she was employed there.
She started working as an estate agent after leaving that position, and she has been in her current position for three years. She works as an estate agent on commission.
Although she has been quite successful and was elevated to the position of property consultant, the commission is quite low, equal to the minimum wage.
She had leased the vehicle, was putting forth a lot of effort, and thought her job was going well.
Her Mercedes had some minor cosmetic damage, but it wouldn’t start, and she doesn’t have the money to fix it right now.
Her employer has informed her that she cannot work if she does not have a car. For one of the busiest branches in the nation, she is unable to drive clients to viewings and visit houses.
“This is not like you. She erred in her assessment of this, and she will pay for it.
She wants to work as an estate agent, so I’m requesting that you waive the typical 17-month disqualification period in light of her contrition and cooperation.
Mr. Nathan, the magistrate, disagreed. We disagree with Mr Gallagher’s point of view. According to the police, Ms. Ogden plainly fled the scene and was running away, and we see that as an aggravating element.
You could have faced a separate prosecution for abandoning the scene, he informed Ogden.
We regret that you will lose your job but we are aware of it.
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